


Just a Small Town Girl

by NovelCarrington



Category: Chris Evans Fandom, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-05-28 17:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 123,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6337609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovelCarrington/pseuds/NovelCarrington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New series of stories about small town girl, Daisy Proctor, and her once in a lifetime trip to Los Angeles for the premiere of Captain America: Civil War.</p><p>What happens when she meets the star of the movie, and they play a game of cat and mouse?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anticipation

The butler bell above the door rang as the delivery driver walked in.  Daisy was used to the UPS man delivering packages, but it was a rare day for the FedEx man to come around.  Frank greeted her and offered the electronic device to capture her signature and then handed her a flat envelope.  Okay, that was even more odd.  Most deliveries to her store were boxes, not envelopes and nothing came to her via priority delivery before 10 am. 

Her little shop on Main Street didn’t open for customers until 10 am but she was always at work by 7 am each day.  She would unlock the front door not because she anticipated customers, or even wanted them that early, but because she would often step out and have coffee with other business owners or workers as they started their day.  When you live in a small town and you know everyone, there is no sense in hiding in your store away from everyone, that is just rude.  And besides, when you are a retail location that might get early package deliveries, you need to be around for them.    She just couldn’t get past Frank delivering something to her, this was just out of the ordinary.  Early morning priority delivery was not associated with anything in her store.

She inspected the package, curiosity was getting to her but she wasn’t quite ready to open it yet.  No shipper was identified on the label but the address was in Los Angeles, California.  Daisy didn’t know anyone in California so that made it all the more curious.  Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer and ripped open the tab, inside she found a letter along with a sealed #10 envelope paper clipped to the back.

_Ms. Proctor:_

_I would like to congratulate you on winning the online contest for you and a guest to attend the Los Angeles premiere of Captain America: Civil War on April 12 th.    Inside this package, you will find not only the tickets to the premiere but your hotel confirmation as well as contact information for our corporate travel agent.  Please reach out to the office and they will help set up your flight arrangements.  _

_Upon your arrival in Los Angeles, you will be provided with transportation to the premiere and reception that will immediately follow.  You will also have an opportunity to meet the stars of the movies and have a photo opportunity and autograph session._

_We look forward to having you as our guest.  Thank you for participating in the contest._

_Kevin Feige_

_President_

_Marvel Studios_

 

Daisy could barely stand, her knees were knocking and she needed to reach for the counter to hold herself up.  She had to be dreaming, there was no way this was real.  She read the letter two more times to process it.  Nope, still didn’t make sense.  This didn’t happen to her, she didn’t win contests.  Frankly, she didn’t even remember entering this one.  She would click on links for the hell of it, knowing that she would never win and she would never give it a second thought.  Winning a contest to send her to LA?  This is not something that she ever considered a real possibility.   

The premiere was three weeks away and she needed to finalize her arrangements.  The time off from work would not be a problem; she owned her own little shop and could make arrangements to close down.  She didn’t have any events upcoming that would cause a conflict.  She was still having a hard time believing she could be so lucky!

~ * ~

Daisy made her way to the airport, she had a late afternoon flight.  She was fortunate that Marvel had allowed for her to fly out the evening before the premiere.  Actually, it was really due to scheduling.  She was unable to get a flight that would put her into LA early on the day of the premiere.  Most fights actually had her arriving after the premiere would have already started.  So, instead, she was going to get a 3 night and 4 day trip to LA and would have an opportunity to sightsee and visit Disneyland in addition to going to the premiere and reception.

Daisy had decided to take this journey alone, even though it was a trip for two.  She had recently broken up with her boyfriend, Michael.  It was too bad for him, he was a massive Marvel fan and he would be so jealous to learn she had won this trip.  She could have taken one of her good friends, but inevitably someone would have had their feelings hurt and she didn’t need that drama.  No, she decided that she could do this on her own.

The flight was uneventful, just the way she liked them.  Daisy hated to fly and the idea of the airport, security, and getting to the hotel was overwhelming.  However, she handled it like a pro.  Marvel had pulled out the stops and provided a ride from the airport to the hotel.  They had also put her up in a very nice hotel just down the street from the theater where the premiere would be held.  Her room was on the 22nd floor and she had a magnificent view of the city.  She had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming.

~ * ~

Daisy was content living in small town, rural America and the idea of Los Angeles was overwhelming.  The big city, bustling traffic, palm trees, and the sunshine – so much different from her day to day life.  She was staying in a nice hotel that would not be anything she would be able to afford if she were traveling on her own.  She would enjoy this while she could. 

Daisy was shy, and the notion of going to this premiere was turning her stomach inside out.  She had wanted to sightsee a little and get out of her hotel room before getting ready for the big event.  But she feared she would wander too far and not get back in time to get made presentable.  So instead, she stayed in the room and overanalyzed her plan for the day and how she wanted to look for the night. 

Then the fear hit her, the last thirty minutes of the movie were being described as an ‘emotional horror story,’ To her this meant that she would most likely cry; she was an overly sensitive person and could cry when watching commercials.  Note to self, she thought, do not wear mascara, she did not want to end up looking like a trash panda on the night she was going to meet the stars of the movie.

~ * ~

Daisy had finally finished getting ready and was now pacing her hotel room waiting for the time to go down to meet the driver.  She had been told to dress nicely for the premiere but that it was not a black tie event.  Luckily she had a dress in her closet that she hoped would be appropriate.  A sleeveless black dress that stopped right above the knee with a pattern of white butterflies that appeared to be flying across the dress.  The spring air allowed for her to pair the dress with a short white sweater and she wore black and white pumps.  Her hair was in a partial updo, and her makeup was soft and natural – giving the appearance of no makeup even though she had it slathered on.    She walked to the elevator bank and her heart was racing.  She was so nervous and had already checked her purse three or four times to make sure the tickets were there.

Her timing was impeccable, as she reached the lobby her car was pulling up out front.  The driver, George, introduced himself and helped her into the backseat.  He explained that he would be driving her to the side entrance of the theater, and she would not be walking the red carpet.  With this news, she began to breathe again.  He let her know that there would be special seating for her in the theater, and the actors would come in once the red carpet arrivals were complete.

George opened the door and helped her out, letting her know that he would be waiting for her at this exit when the movie was over so he could drive her to the reception.  He handed her a card and let her know that if she were to leave with anyone else or if she needed anything at all, she should just call him.  He tipped his hat, and she thanked him.  Daisy walked into the theater and tried to maintain her composure.

The room was grand as it was an old Hollywood theater; there was a large elegant staircase to the balcony seating.  The old-time concession stands in the lobby and velvet ropes to block off the forbidden areas.  She immediately found a place against the wall to people watch.  None of the stars of the movie had arrived yet, but there were plenty of celebrities in attendance.    She must have already stood out because a young woman began walking her way.

“Hello, would you be Ms. Daisy Proctor?”  The woman asked as she approached.

Daisy stood up a little straighter, “Um, yes.  Yes, I am, “ She held out her hand.

The woman took her hand and gave a firm handshake, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Proctor.  My name is Amanda Whitehouse, I am Mr. Feige’s assistant, he asked that I look for you this evening and help get you situated.”

“Oh, thank you, I appreciate that.  George gave me some information about what to expect for the evening.  Something about assigned seats for the movie and then I would meet him out that side door to go to the reception.”

“Yes, that is correct.  I understand you made this trip on your own.  I have to admit, I am not sure if you are brave or crazy for doing that.”

“Probably a little bit of both,” she said laughing nervously.

The buzz at the front of the theater was getting louder; the stars were starting to arrive.  Amanda motioned for Daisy to follow her as she began walking toward the theater doors.

“I am going to go ahead and take you in and seat you.  If you need to use the ladies room, now is the time.  Your place will be in the middle of a row, and it will be a little harder to get out once everyone else has taken their seats.”

Daisy began walking into the theater and noticed that quite a few people had already taken their seats.  She had anticipated that she would be sitting in the balcony or near the back; but instead, Amanda was walking her toward prime seats that were roped off in the middle of the theater.  The seats had numbers on them but no names.

Amanda went to the second row of seats that were reserved and moved the rope, “Daisy, you are being seated here in the VIP area.  You may have a seat in either number twelve or thirteen as those were the seats assigned through the online contest.    Once all of the stars of the film have walked the red carpet they will come in and take their seats in this area.  The Russo Brothers, you know who they are, correct?”  Daisy nodded at Amanda’s question.  “They will introduce the movie and present the main stars of the film to say a few words and then the movie will play.  Once it is over, the ushers will release the VIP section first and you can walk out with them or stay behind and walk out separately, whichever makes you feel more comfortable.”

Daisy nodded as Amanda spoke to her.  She could not believe what she was hearing.  There was no way she was going to be sitting in the VIP section for the premiere of this movie.  She took a few deep breaths and then walked toward the seats; she settled on number twelve.  She tried to remain calm but it was increasingly difficult; she had taken out her cell phone to text a few friends and they were sending her photos from the red carpet that was happening just behind the doors at the top of the aisle from where she was seated.  Her heart was racing and she was not sure she was going to survive this; in theory, this trip was a good idea but in execution, it was scaring the hell out of her.  Of course, her friends were jealous because she was about to see the movie and would have encounters with these people that they could only stare at on their computer screens. 

Slowly she saw and heard he actors making their way into the theater.  She did not want to look around and appear to fangirl over anyone.    The murmurs of the crowd became louder and she realized that the moment had arrived, the Russo Brothers, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, and Chris Evans were standing in front of the screen ready to talk to the crowd.  At that exact moment she noticed that the chairs on either side of her were empty, she knew one of them would be because it was allocated for her guest that she didn’t bring.  But the other?  Crap, that meant that one of those guys in front of the crowd could end up sitting next to her.  She was not ready for that….no, this would not work….her heart would not survive if that was the case and she was pretty sure her ovaries wouldn’t either!

 

 


	2. The Premiere

All Daisy could think about were the two empty chairs on either side of her.  She was not emotionally prepared for this movie, let alone for the possibility that one or more of the stars could sit beside her for the premiere.  She kept her head down, unable to look up at the gentlemen assembled at the front of the theater.  She could hear them speak and the passion they were displaying for the project and the characters.  They talked about how the outcome of this film would propel the MCU forward for the next phase of movies.  They warned everyone to hold on for one heck of a ride and then the lights began to dim.    She knew that meant that they would be taking their seats and sure enough, she felt the seats on either side of her move.  Wait? What?  One of those seats was supposed to remain empty.

Whoever sat on her left had bumped her arm when he sat down.  He reached out to touch her hand and say ‘sorry’ and her heart stopped.  The deep, velvet voice was unmistakable.  The man sitting beside her was none other than Chris Evans.

She slowly turned to look at him; he was smiling at her.  Dear God, he was smiling at her.  She tried to smile back but was pretty sure she looked like a fool.  She quickly looked away, reasonably confident that her face was turning crimson.   She was not certain, but she thought she heard him chuckle when she turned away.  Great, he was laughing at her, just what she needed.  She turned to look at the other seat that was supposed to be empty.  Instead, Sebastian Stan had taken the place.  Great, sitting in between Cap and Bucky!

She never had truly taken notice of Sebastian before; she had made comments that he was attractive but it was always Chris Evans that held her attention.  But being this close to him, she had to admit that he was a very handsome man.  He couldn’t replace Chris in her eyes but she was pretty sure she would enjoy hanging out with him.   She hoped he did not catch her staring at him.

She crossed her legs and tried to get comfortable in her seat without utilizing the armrests.  She did not want to risk touching either Chris or Sebastian; she was not sure she would be able to handle that emotionally.  It was quite difficult to get comfortable when your lady parts are screaming at you and you trying to ignore them while you keep your hands and arms tightly to your body.  Damn, she was not going to to survive sitting her and the movie hadn’t even started yet. 

Daisy had done reasonably well holding it together; there had been gut-wrenching scenes and she had been able to maintain her composure.  But she could tell things were drawing to a close and her emotions were being put through the wringer and was not sure she could take it any longer.  She was holding back tears and trying to remain calm but she was evidently not as strong as she thought.  She felt a tap on her shoulder and then suddenly a tissue was being held out in front of her.  Are you serious?  Chris had tissues in his pocket? 

Sheepishly, she accepted the tissue and turned to mouth a ‘thank you.’  She was embarrassed and thankful that the theater was dark so he could not see her cheeks flush.  When the movie ended, she kept her head down, fearful that her makeup would be smeared and honestly too scared to make eye contact with either man.  Unfortunately, they didn’t read her social cues or weren’t really interested in following them.

Sebastian leaned toward her and asked quietly, “So, what did you think?”

Without looking up, she turned her head in his direction and softly responded, “It was incredible, but I think I am going to need a little time to process it thoroughly.  Maybe even see it a couple more times.”

“Well, Marvel will be happy to hear that, I am sure,” He laughed and then asked, “Was it enough of an emotional rollercoaster for you?”

“Yeah, you know I feel like I was warned but there was no way to be truly prepared for that.  Honestly, I think you all are trying to kill your fans.”

With that, Sebastian let out a hearty laugh.  “That wasn’t our intention, I promise.  We need all of you around for the next set of movies.”

As he said the words, the ushers arrived to release the VIP section.  Daisy didn’t move, she just kept her head down and let everyone else stand and leave.  She didn’t want to be in the crowd, she figured once the crowd thinned a little it would be easier to maneuver to the lobby and out to the car.  She could tell by the crowd noise that the VIP section was clear and that the general public in attendance was now exiting.  She kept her head down, electing to text to her friends and let them know that the movie was over and they would be blown away.  She promised no spoilers and she chose to save the detail about who she was seated next to for the time being because she wanted to see the expression on their faces when she delivered that news.    

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.  Her head snapped up, and she slowly started to turn her head when he began to speak, “You do know that the movie is over, right?”  His hot breath on her neck was enough to make her skin tingle and turn hot at the same time.  “Do you have an aversion to leaving the theater?”

She swallowed hard, trying to take a moment actually to find her voice.  “Um, I was just waiting before I left, I just didn’t want to get lost in the mass of humanity in the lobby.”

“Oh, I see.  Well, if you needed a chaperone you should have said so.  Would you like for me to escort you out to your carriage?”  She could hear the smile in his voice.

She took a deep breath and slowly stood from her chair, smoothing her dress as she stood.  Being cognizant that his eyes were most likely on her.  As she turned around, she realized he was standing up as well from where he had been leaning over the seats.  It was her first opportunity to look truly at him.

He was wearing a navy blue suit with a soft white, almost ivory shirt.  He was not wearing a tie, and he did not button the top two buttons on the shirt, so his clavicle tattoo was clearly visible if you looked, and, of course, she was looking.  His hair was just how she loved it, longer on top with less product in it, and his beard was well trimmed and had flecks of ginger and gray.  It was taking everything within in her not collapse, he was even more beautiful in person than he was in the hundreds of pictures of she had stared at online.

It was then that she noticed that the theater still had quite a few people in it. How in the world did he realize she wasn’t in the lobby?  He offered his hand to hers and after some hesitation, she took it, and he led her to the aisle and up to the lobby.

Daisy released his hand as they reached the lobby doors; he didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t appear to care as he made no motion to reclaim her hand.  He opened the door and as they walked through she was immediately struck by the sheer number of people as well as the lights and cameras.  Every media outlet was covering the premiere and reporters were everywhere.  She distanced herself from Chris and eased over to the wall, trying to make herself small, and moved toward the side exit.  She scanned the crowd to see where her knight had made off to but could not locate him in the crowd. 

She reached the side lobby door and pushed it open, breaking into the chilled night air.  The line of limousines was long, and all she could see were the taillights.  She had no idea how she was supposed to find George in this mess.   She decided just to start walking and figured she would run into him and sure enough, the third car down on the left. 

“Ms. Proctor are you ready to head to the reception?”  His voice boomed and echoed in the alley.  He had walked around the back of the car to greet her and was now standing next to the door that he had deftly opened for her.

She smiled at the gesture, this type of treatment was not something shew as used to, “Thank you, George.  You know, I’m not so I want to go to the reception, would it be rude if I just had you take me back to the hotel?  I know it is part of my trip but I just don’t do well in crowds; I just don’t want to offend Mr. Feige.”

Before George had a chance to answer she heard footsteps and voices approaching.  Then she felt an arm snake around her waist, “Well good evening, George, are you the lucky man who gets to drive for this beautiful young woman tonight?”  Daisy was sure she heard a little slur in the at velvet voice, he had probably had a drink or two while he had been in the theater.

“Yes, sir, I certainly am.  It is the one time in my life when I can actually say I am driving Miss Daisy,” George let out a belly laugh at his joke. 

Of course, it was something she had heard numerous times.  You don’t grow up with a name like Daisy and not hear those jokes.  That one, in particular, she heard most often, close followed by the questions about whether she had a boyfriend named Donald or if her last name was Duck.

“I didn’t even think of that George; that is downright funny.  Make sure she gets to the reception, she has to be formally introduced to everyone, and I think Kevin wants to get a group picture.”  His touch was setting her body on fire, five alarm hot, and she was not going to be able to stand it much longer.  Just then, as if he knew this, he removed his arm but decided he wanted to up the stakes and send her over the edge.  He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You aren’t going to get away so easy.”  His hot breath on her skin was intoxicating and he knew he was playing with her.  She was well aware that this was a game of cat and mouse and it was going nowhere.  He wanted to have fun and she wanted to run.

George just watched, his eyes were wide.  He swallowed hard and finally spoke, “Ms. Proctor, are you still wanting me to take you back to your hotel?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she watched as Chris Evans turned and walked back to his waiting car.  He had an air of confidence when he walked and he knew he could to control her evening.  Damn him.

“I guess I am going to the party, George,” she was resigned in her response.  As she got in the car, she pulled out a small mirror and tried to check her makeup.  She freshened her lipstick and fixed her eyeliner that had smudged ever so slightly when she wiped a few tears during the movie.  “George, I realize that it is probably unprofessional for you to answer but can you tell me if I look okay?”

He smiled in the rearview mirror, “Ms. Proctor you are a lovely young woman and do look beautiful.  I don’t think you have anything to be nervous about.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that, I just can’t help feeling self-conscience going to a Hollywood party full of beautiful people.”

George laughed at her comment but did not respond.  She was not sure she was going to survive this party.  The wallflower act worked while in the lobby of the theater and it worked in the movie until Sebastian and Chris sat down.  Now she had one of the hottest actors in Hollywood teasing her and she was not sure how to handle it.

 


	3. The Reception

As George opened her door at the reception location, she began to get nervous again.  Once again he gave her directions regarding leaving and heading back to her hotel.  If she elected to leave with someone, all she had to do was tell him so he wasn’t worrying about her.  She thanked him and slowly made her way toward the entrance.  She was stopped and had to be checked on the guest list to be let in – it was so Hollywood and had to admit she loved it.

The crowd was not nearly as bad as she had anticipated; most of the stars were already there.  She began to move toward the bar to get a drink when she ran into Amanda.  “Oh, there you are, I was afraid you had gotten lost.  Kevin wants to meet you and have you meet the cast.  Are you ready?”

Her nervousness was showing, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Amanda led her towards a side room that had been set up for the meet and greet.  As she walked in, the entire cast was chatting in a small circle but stopped and turned to watch her walk in.  She wanted to shrink and run in the other direction.  Before that could happen, Kevin Feige was on his way over to say hello.

“Ms. Proctor, it is such a pleasure to meet you.  I trust that you enjoyed the movie.”

“Please, call me Daisy; Ms. Proctor sounds so formal.  It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.  Thank you for this fantastic opportunity and, yes, I did enjoy the movie.”

“The question is; did you cry?”  Kevin asked with a wicked grin.

Sebastian and Chris answered in unison, “Yes she did!”  They could tell she looked embarrassed and before they had a chance to apologize, Robert was giving them the evil eye.  They both quickly hung their heads.

“Well, we wanted to draw on emotions of the audience, glad to see it worked.  So let me introduce you to everyone,” Kevin said as he began to walk her down the line.  As he introduced each person they shook her hand and exchanged pleasantries.   The end of the line held Robert, Sebastian and Chris.  Kevin stopped just short and then turned to look at Daisy, “I am taking it that you have already met these gentlemen?”

“I have not been formally introduced to any of them, although I did sit between Mr. Evans and Mr. Stan during the movie.”

Robert stepped forward and then looked at the Chris and Sebastian and then back at her, “So instead of a rose between two thorns, we had a Daisy between two thorns.  Not quite the same ring to it but the truth all the same.  It is a pleasure to meet you,” Robert said as he took her hand and then offered her a hug. 

She had not been a big fan of his but she had to admit that he was quite charming and she now understood his appeal.  “It is very nice to meet you as well.”

“Did they keep their hands to themselves during the movie?  Do you need me to defend your honor in any way?”  He asked playfully.

“They were gentlemen,” she said looking at them and then turned back to Robert, “Who knew they had it in them?”

Robert began to laugh, “Okay, I like her.  We need to keep her around.  Kevin, find her a job!”  He gave her another hug and then said, “It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope you have a good time tonight.”

It was then Sebastian’s turn and he stepped forward and extended his hand, “I guess I am going to be known as thorn number one.  It is nice to meet you, Daisy.” 

She had not expected his smile to be so intoxicating; it took a minute for it to register that he had his hand out.  She finally responded, taking his hand, “It is nice to meet you.”  She released his hand, albeit a little slowly and stepped back. 

Then Chris stepped forward and Daisy’s pulse began to quicken.  She was surprised at this since she had already held his hand and had a private moment with him.  But to be honest, he was the reason she even entered the contest to begin with.  He had already made her skin tingle and flush warm when he seductively whispered in her ear.  Did he do that on purpose?  Did he know he would have that impact on her? 

He flashed that million-dollar smile, “Hello, Daisy, was it?  I am so glad you decided to join us for the party,” He turned to look at Kevin, “Did you know she was considering going back to her hotel and skipping this?”

Robert stepped forward again, “Daisy, I take it you are a little shy and this entire situation is a bit overwhelming, would I be right in that assessment?”  She slowly nodded her head, unsure of herself to answer.  He walked over and put his arm around her, “Keeping that in mind, Evans, you should be a little nicer to this young woman.  Don’t embarrass her so much.”

“I’m not trying to embarrass her, I swear.  I am attempting to have a little fun, though.  I’m sorry Daisy,” He offered.

“It’s okay, I am just not real comfortable in big crowds.  I come from a small town and I honestly know everyone there so this is a little daunting.  I come off as weird and awkward, so I am sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologize for who you are,” Robert offered, “We are all a bit weird and awkward.  Just be you, Daisy!”  Now she really understood his appeal, damn he was charming.

With that, Kevin stepped forward, “Now that we have the introductions out of the way, do you want to have a group photo Daisy?  Something to remember your trip by?”

“Um…well, I don’t really like to have my picture taken, but if I could just get one of the entire group without me in it.  Well, that would be fantastic!”

“Ok, consider it done!”  Kevin waved the photographer over and they corralled the cast for a group photo.  They had already had several taken that night so they had the routine down pat.  Once the picture was taken, they began to slowly exit the room.  Each person taking the time to acknowledge Daisy as they left.  Except Chris, he lingered for a few moments as he walked toward the doors.  He didn’t approach her and he didn’t speak. Instead, he just watched her and her stomach flipped; she was unsure of what was going on and what his game he was playing.

Kevin approached her and asked if he could talk to her for a few minutes.  She couldn’t say ‘no,’ he did fly her out for the premiere and had afforded her the opportunity to live out a dream.  The conversation was short, he just wanted her honest opinion on the movie and to gauge her interest in the other areas of Marvel and the MCU and how they are received outside of the major metropolitan areas.  She did what she could to draw out the conversation; the longer the conversation, the less time she would have to spend in the crowd at the party.

Unfortunately, Kevin wanted to be in the party so he wasn’t interested in an extended discussion.  He stood up, “Daisy, it was a pleasure meeting you and having this chance to speak.  Please, enjoy the rest of your trip and have a safe trip back home.”

She rose and extended her hand, “Thank you, Mr. Feige.  I am so thankful for this opportunity.”  She watched as he walked out of the room.  She was alone and began plotting her escape when the door opened once again and Amanda entered.

“Daisy, part of the contest package included a photo opportunity with the cast of the movie as well as an autograph.  We had them sign a poster for you in advance and have actually made arrangements to ship it to your store for you.  Figured that would be easier than you trying to carry it back on the flight.  And we have already taken care of the photo opportunity so the official contest duties for the evening are complete.  Please go out and enjoy the party as well as the rest of your time in Los Angeles.  Have a safe trip back home, as well.”

Amanda then turned and left the room, Daisy checked her watch and realized it was still early so it would be stupid to go back to the hotel when she could open the door and enjoy this party.  She walked back into the crowded room and made a beeline for the bar.  Maybe getting a drink would calm her nerves and make the night go a little easier.  She was waiting for the bartender when she felt him walk up alongside her.

“So, what are you drinking?”  His voice was velvet smooth and instantly made her wet.  No other man had that sort of impact on her.  

She couldn’t even look at him, “Um, I hadn’t made up my mind yet.  Do you have a suggestion?”

“Hmmm.  Well, Daisy, you are from the South, right?  I think I hear a bit of a southern drawl in your voice, so I am going to guess you can do bourbon,” He gazed into her dark brown eyes hoping to see if she gave off any hints but she didn’t.  He motioned for the bartender, “Bryan, give the lady an old fashioned and I’ll have another gin and tonic.”

“First name basis with the bartender, huh?  Keeping him busy tonight?”  She was trying to keep it light, she was nervous and didn’t really know what else to say.

“So why don’t you want to be here tonight, Daisy?  I thought you entered the contest because you were looking forward to coming out here to the movie and to hob-knob at this fancy party?”

“Well, I entered the contest because I wanted to make the trip to LA and because I wanted to see the movie but hob-knobbing is not my thing.  Not sure if you’ve picked up on it or not, I’m not exactly comfortable with the crowd.”

Bryan delivered the drinks, Chris said thanks and dropped some cash in the tip jar.  He handed Daisy her drink and then offered up a toast, “To the beginning of what will be a delightful evening.”  The two clinked their glasses and Chris arched his eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile.  “So maybe if we drink one or two of these, the crowd won’t be an issue.”

“So your idea for me to have fun is to get me drunk?”

“Would it work?  Because I am definitely willing to give it a try.”

She took a big swig of her drink, she needed the liquid courage to keep up this conversation.  He watched her with wide eyes, not quite believing what he was looking at.  “I’m trying to figure out why in the world you even care to talk to me?  I’m confused, that’s all.”

“Well, I have to admit that I’m a little confused by you.  A lovely young woman comes to LA alone for a movie premiere.  She seems out of her comfort zone in the crowd of people and wants to do nothing more than blend into the wallpaper or hide in her hotel room.  You are an enigma Daisy Proctor and I have to admit that I am intrigued.”

“I’m shy and backward, from a small rural town and thought it would be fun to come to LA.  I am way out of my comfort zone and don’t fit in with the beautiful people of Hollywood.  I think it was a mistake to enter this contest and come out here,“ she swallowed the rest of her drink.  She slammed the glass back down on the bar and noticed that another drink was already waiting for her.  He really did intend on getting her drunk.

For some reason, the conversation with Chris was coming easily.  While they stood at the bar talking, several of the other actors from the movie came over to join the conversation.  After several drinks, Daisy’s inhibitions were gone and she was comfortable with everyone, something she never would have imagined.  She lost track of the number of drinks – Chris had just made sure she always had a fresh glass.

Actually, Daisy lost track of everything because when she opened her eyes, she realized she was in her hotel room.  She tried to sit up quickly but the throbbing pain in her head made her realize that was not a good idea.  When she finally made it to a seated position, she checked to see if she was alone.  It appeared so, there was no one else on her bed and she didn’t see anyone on the guest bed or on the floor.

 

 


	4. The Day After

Daisy could not remember much of the night before.  She vaguely recalled having a drink or two at the bar with Chris and possibly a drink or two with Sebastian but not really anything else.  She checked to see if she was alone and she was; at least, there was no one in the bed with her, on the guest bed, or on the floor.  The next thing she checked was to see if her clothes were on;  thank goodness she still had her dress on.  As she swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood up, she was relieved to discover that she was still wearing her lace undies.  Thank God she didn’t strip or lose her clothes.  It was just then that it struck her that she better check to see if her dress was on the right way; wanted to make sure she didn’t rush to put it on and it was now wrong side out or backward.  Nope, she was safe in that regard as well.

Her legs were wobbly and she knew that she needed to either attempt to move forward or she would collapse.  Daisy gathered her things and went into the bathroom, figuring that a hot shower might help shake the cobwebs and ease a raging headache.  When she came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, she instinctively checked her phone and realized she had a text message.

_Hope you ended up having a great time last night, I know I did.  What do you say I pick you up in an hour for Disney?_

Daisy stared at the message – it was from Chris Evans and had been sent ten minutes ago.  How in the hell did he get her cell phone number and how did he know she was going to Disney?  She was frozen and couldn’t answer and honestly didn’t know how to answer.  Suddenly her phone dinged and a new message popped up.

_I bet you forgot that we exchanged numbers and that you invited me to hang out with you today.  Are you trying to think of a way to change your mind?_

Shit!  Did he have ESP?  Finally, she began to type back.

_Sorry, was in the shower.  Of course, I remembered – an hour sounds good.  Want me to meet you at the park?_

She seriously hoped she had fooled him.  She was worried that if she couldn’t remember asking Chris Evans to go to Disney with her and exchanging phone numbers, what else could she not remember? 

                _I’ll pick you up at your hotel, I’ll wait for you outside.  Do you care if Scott tags along?_

Great, picking her up at the hotel meant that they even exchanged that information.  Evidently he didn’t know her room number because he offered to pick her up outside versus coming up to get her.  And, if Scott came along, well he could be a buffer and make things a little more comfortable for them both.

                _Sounds good on both counts, look forward to seeing you,_

Daisy figured she better get dressed and fix her hair and makeup.  If she was going to spend the day with Chris she wanted to look her best.   She paced around the hotel room and nervously watched the clock.  Finally, unable to take it any longer, she went downstairs and figured she would sit outside so that she would be right there and ready when he pulled up to the hotel entrance.

She walked down to the lobby wearing faded blue jean capri pants with a yellow embellished tank top and soft yellow slip on sneakers.  The only jewelry, other than her watch, were soft pink rose earrings.  She was trying to channel a Disney princess from one of her favorite movies and was curious to see if Chris would pick up on it.  Shortly after taking a seat on the bench in front of the hotel, his car pulled up.  He did the proper and polite thing, he got out and approached her versus yelling through the window.

“Good morning Daisy, are you ready?”  He asked as he pulled his sunglasses down his nose to reveal his hypnotic blue eyes.  “Or should I call you Belle?”

She began to giggle, “So you did notice?  I wondered if you would,” She said as she stood up and started to walk towards him.

“Uh, yeah, I noticed and I must say the look fits you,” he opened the car door and helped her in.  Once she was settled, he shut the door and ran around to the driver’s side.  He hastily introduced her to Scott and pulled away from the curb.

Scott took notice of her outfit as well, “Um, Daisy did you dress up like his favorite princess on purpose or is this a freak coincidence?”  She looked horrified, he could see it written across her face the minute the words left his lips.  “Oh, it is a freak coincidence isn’t that adorable.”

“Your favorite princess is Belle?”  She asked, utterly horrified.

“Well, um…yeah,” He answered somewhat sheepishly.  He also shot a glare at his brother via the rearview mirror.  “You aren’t going to judge are you?  I mean, you know that sort of thing being out in the public, well that could hurt my reputation.”

Daisy began laughing, she couldn’t control it.  “The fact that you know the words to all the songs from Little Mermaid is okay but you are concerned about people thinking ill of you for liking Belle?  Ok, whatever, I’ll keep it a secret.”

The rode in silence for a few minutes because Daisy wasn’t really sure how to take Scott and she was still nervous around Chris.  While she had evidently let her guard down around him the previous evening, she wasn’t drunk today and her guard was back up.  The question that was nagging at her was how in the heck had she made it back to her hotel.  She finally worked up the nerve to go ahead and ask.

“Um, Chris, can I ask you a question?”

He glanced over at her and then back on the road, “Sure, what’s on your mind?”

“Exactly how did I make it back to my hotel last night?”

“Oh! Did someone drink a little too much last night?”  Scott chided from the backseat.

“I am not sure,” she responded, “I honestly can’t remember much of last night.”

“George took you back to the hotel and I guess he had someone there help you up to your room.  Don’t worry, no one took advantage of you at the party.  By night’s end, it was the two of us along with Sebastian and Anthony Mackie.  We were all quite impressed with how much liquor you can hold.”

“What?  Chris, you’re telling me she drank with you and Mackie?  How is she able to function today?”

“Who said anything about me being able to function?”

“Do you feel alright to go to Disney?  I mean we can do something else if you want,” Chris suddenly sounded concerned.

“No, I’m okay.  But thanks for your concern.”

Suddenly the conversation picked up between Scott and Daisy and Chris was left out in the cold.  She found a rhythm with Scott and it was easy for the two of them to gang up on Chris.  The problem was that occasionally Chris and Scott would gang up and go back after her.    There were moments of quiet, the drive was long thanks to the insane traffic on the freeway.  But Daisy didn’t have to worry about carrying too much of any conversation, Scott sucked up most of the oxygen in the car.  That boy could talk!

“Daisy, you aren’t saying much, cat got your tongue?” Scott asked playfully.

“No, I was just waiting for your batteries to die so that I knew it would be safe to speak,” she fired back at him.

“Whoa!  The sweet little southern girl has a forked tongue I see.  So, tell me, you have any brothers or sisters?  Since you are a doll, I am hoping you have a brother or two that might be single.”

Scott was charming and she loved it, “Sorry to disappoint you, I am an only child.  It was evident they had the best with me, so mom and dad didn’t need to have any other kids.”

“Oh, Chris you need to marry her right this minute.  The sass is strong in this one and she is perfect for you!”  Immediately her skin began to flush and she felt her temperature rise; Scott didn’t let that go unnoticed either, “Oh, I made her blush.  Daisy, are you a slight bit embarrassed?  Does that mean you happen to like my big brother?”

Chris quickly glanced over to look at her and she turned to look out the window.  “Scott, leave her alone.  I think you are making her uncomfortable.  I’m sorry about him Daisy, this is why we don’t let him out in public very often.  I should have taped his mouth shut,” he said as he glared at his brother via the rearview mirror.

Scott sat back in the seat and crossed his arms, he was just trying to have a little fun.  When he looked over to see Daisy’s reflection in the window it appeared as if she might be unhappy.  He couldn’t tell if she was just angry or if she was crying but, either way, he felt horrible about it.  He sat forward and placed his hand on her shoulder.  “Hey, Daisy, look I’m sorry.  I was just trying to have a little fun and I didn’t mean to embarrass you or upset you.”

She took a deep breath, “It’s okay, Scott.  I think I am still just a bit overwhelmed by all of this.  If you would have told me on the flight out here that I would be going to Disneyland with Chris Evans and his handsome brother, Scott.  Well, I would have slapped you silly.”  She plastered on a smile and tried to hide the fact that she was seriously kicking herself for not finding a way out of this invite.

~ * ~

Being famous had its advantages, like VIP parking and a VIP entrance.  This allowed the park to register who was coming onto the property.  A text alert would go out so cast members (Disney staff) could be aware in case they needed to provide special assistance to the VIP during their stay on property.  Daisy thought that was a little weird and was not sure she wanted to be singled out with Chris.  She figured it might have an advantage but she didn’t feel right about it.

Her prime concern for the day had to do with the fans and people approaching Chris for pictures and autographs.  She tried to distance herself by walking a few steps behind and to the side of the Evans brothers.  This allowed her to follow their lead of where they wanted to go in the park but to maintain a distance and keep from being photographed with them.  She also tried to limit her interactions with them and she could tell that it bothered Chris.

She had avoided riding most of the rides; she liked the ones geared towards the kids.  The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party or Peter Pan’s Flight were more her speed while the boys loved the rollercoasters and the wild rides.  Daisy had agreed to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and they were standing in line waiting their turn.  She asked that they not draw attention to themselves and use their VIP status for their seats and they agreed.  It was late in the day and it was going to be one of their last rides.

Chris was making a call and speaking in hushed tones on his phone and Scott took the opportunity to lean forward and whisper to Daisy, “Are you embarrassed to be seen with us?  You have done everything possible to keep distance between us all day.”

“I just don’t want to be photographed with you because I don’t want to be on the gossip sites or cause problems for you two,” she whispered back.

“Oh, yeah I guess you have a point.  I thought maybe it was because I was right this morning and you have a crush on my brother and you are afraid to be close to him.”  She turned around and stared at him for a minute, “Well, it is a plausible scenario.  I think he likes you but he won’t tell me; not like I haven’t been asking all damn day.”

Daisy shook her head at his comments.  Finally, she decided to respond, “Well I also kept my distance because you guys like rides and I don’t so I let you do your thing and I kind of do mine.  No big deal.”

At that moment, Chris ended his call and turned to look at her, “Wait a minute, you don’t like rides?  Why did you want to come to Disneyland then?”

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head, “It ain’t all about the rides you know!  Duh, it's Disney!!”

“I told you, Chris,” Scott interjected and grabbed Daisy’s left hand, holding it up for him to see, “Put a ring on it, pronto!”

 

 


	5. Club 33 Dinner

Daisy had gone from having a simple conversation with Scott to finding out he had been teasing his brother all day about liking her and then this.  Taking her hand and telling Chris to put a ring on it, pronto.  She wanted to crawl into a hole.  The problem was she was in line for a ride and there were no hiding places available.  To make it worse, they were next in line to get in the boats.

Just her luck, the boats were loaded and she was seated with Chris and Scott was behind them.  She wanted to snuggle against him and have him put his arm around her but that wasn’t possible.  She said nothing during the ride and Chris had turned in his seat to talk to Scott several times.  The day just seemed to be a cluster from the beginning.

As the ride was coming to an end, Daisy leaned over to Chris, “How about when we exit, I just go my way and you two go yours.  When you’re ready to leave, just text me and tell me where to meet you.  Or, I can just get a cab back to the hotel and you guys can stay here all night, I don’t mind.”

Scott leaned forward, he had apparently been listening, “Doll, the cost of a cab from here back to your hotel would be outrageous.  We could probably get Disney VIP services to take you back, though.  That is kind of what they are supposed to do anyway.”

Chris glared at his brother, “We had said this would be our last ride of the day and aren’t you getting hungry since we haven’t eaten all day?”

“Um, well, yeah, I could eat now that you mention it.”

Chris reached for her hand and led her outside and around the corner to an innocuous blue door.  He gently pressed the buzzer and the nearby intercom crackled to life asking his name and the number of guests in his party.  He pressed the intercom button and responded with, “Evans party of three.”

A moment later the door was opened and they were ushered in and told they could go up to the dining room via the grand staircase or the French elevator.  They opted for the stairs.  As they began their ascent, Daisy looked back at the woman who had opened the door for them.  She could not help but feel as if the woman was judging her and her wardrobe.  She took a minute and stopped, she remembered that she had put a folded sweater in her bag that morning.  She quickly removed it and put it on, smoothing it out in the hopes it would step up her appearance some.  She looked back at the woman at the base of the stairway and she gave an approving nod and turned around and walked off.

Daisy quickly ran up the steps to get catch up with Scott and Chris.  As they reached the top step, she finally asked, “Where are we?”

He smiled and looked at her, “Welcome to Club 33, the most exclusive Disney dining facility.   I was able to secure a reservation through some of our Disney connections.  I can only dream of being a member here.”

She fiddled with her sweater and mumbled under her breath, “I feel underdressed and out of place.”  She didn’t think that anyone could hear her.

Chris leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry, you look beautiful.  Quit fidgeting.”

She turned to look at him and he gave her a devilish smile and raised his eyebrows.  Just then a hostess came by to take them to their table and Daisy could not help but stare at the exquisite décor.  The restaurant was beautiful and she could understand how exclusive it must be since the seating was limited.

She wasn’t worried about being seen with Chris here.  She had already noticed several recognizable faces and figured discretion was part of the arrangement.  They were seated at a small table in a quiet area.  The menu was presented and Daisy stared in full wonder.  The menu had items on it that she had never heard of mixed with things you would see on the menu of any average restaurant but the prices were anything other than normal.  She simultaneously wanted to go back to her little shop and little life and for this night to never end.

The waiter took their drink and dinner order and then they felt like they were relaxed enough to speak and try their hand at general conversation.

“Daisy, that is such a cute name.  Where are you from?”  Scott inquired and Chris shot him a stare.  “What?  I can’t ask questions about our new friend?  Aren’t you just a meanie?”

“Be nice, Scott.  That is all I ask,” Chris shot back, maintaining a stern look.

“My parents were, or should I say, are a little different.  They loved the idea of the 60’s and hippies even though they were too young to realize what it was all about when they were living it.  So, ‘flower power’ to them was ‘totally radical’ so they decided to name me after a flower.  I would have a feeling if there were more kids we would have sounded like a damn greenhouse.”

Scott could not contain his laughter and Daisy just smiled at him.  He was clutching his chest and was doubled over; however, Chris was more subdued.  He was just observing and she was confused, to say the least.  Despite the rocky beginning, she was finding that she was more comfortable, at the moment, with Scott.

“So, my parent are hippies or wannabees and own an orchard.  I own a small store on Main Street in the downtown of a little bedroom community in the Midwest.  Nothing special about our town, we are in the middle of nowhere but we have a little tourist traffic and our town only has 6,000 residents.”

Chris cleared his throat, “Wow, that is a tiny town.  How far is the largest city from you?”

“About an hour away.  But don’t freak out, we have a grocery store and pizza delivery.  There’s a Walmart twenty minutes up the road.  But if you want to go to the mall or go to the city for something special, you have a two-hour round trip that you need to plan for.  So, I do most of my shopping on Amazon.”

Scott watched his brother carefully as he asked his next question, “So, you made this trip alone, is there no Mr. Daisy?”

She immediately felt her face flush and began to get nervous, “Um, no.  I had a Michael…I mean, I had a boyfriend named Michael but we recently broke up.”

Scott took a sip of his drink and responded with, “Well obviously he’s an idiot, what the hell was his problem?”

“I was his problem,” she muttered, “The bridal boutique owner who doesn’t want to get married.”

Chris and Scott looked at one another and in unison said, “Bridal boutique?”

“Yeah, you know bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, invitations, and all that jazz.  I like the idea of romance but have no desire to get married.”

“You are an odd duck, Daisy,” Scott said as he began laughing at his own joke.

Their dinners arrived and the conversation waned while they ate.  Daisy was thankful for that; she did not want to discuss her personal life any further.  She didn’t mind talking to Scott about it but she just kept getting a weird vibe from Chris.  She couldn’t figure him out.  One minute he was kind and sweet and the next he was cold and standoffish. 

“I have no room for dessert but I feel like it would be sinful to leave without having some,” Scott declared while looking back and forth between Chris and Daisy.  “Daisy, would you be willing to share one with me?”

She gave him a smile and replied, “Sure, Scott because I would really hate to see you cry if you didn’t get your dessert.”

Chris leaned forward, elbows on the table, “When we are finished with dinner is there anything else in the area that you want to experience before you go back home?”

“No, not really.  I think this trip has already exceeded my expectations, not sure anything else could top it.”

“Ha!” Scott let out a laugh, “I am pretty sure you could come up with something, right?”

Daisy threw her napkin at him, hitting him right in the face.  Her smile showed that she took the teasing and he noticed she was able to keep from flushing bright red.  She gently pushed her chair back, “If you would excuse me, I need to find the powder room.”

As proper gentlemen, they both stood with her and waited for her to walk away before taking their seats.  Scott watched his brother closely and gauged his reaction before finally asking, “What is it about her?”

Chris seemed genuinely confused by his question, “Huh?  What do you mean?”

“You seem, I don’t know, smitten.  Do you like her?”

“Hell, I don’t know, maybe…yeah, I guess.”

“Make up your mind because you are giving us all whiplash, man.  One minute you act as if you are ready to kiss her and the next as if you want to push her away.”

“I like her because she is normal and maybe that is what scares me.  She is sweet and doesn’t seem fake and she cried during the movie for heaven’s sake.  Hollywood isn’t her thing and she doesn’t like crowds, she is an ordinary girl and I admit I am attracted to that.”

Scott waited for a minute and then leaned forward and chuckled, “You know she is probably a closet Chris Evans fan and has a shrine for you in her bedroom closet,”  Scott noticed that Chris wasn’t laughing, “She’s behind me isn’t she?”

Daisy sat back down in her chair and without missing a beat, she responded, “For your information, the shrine had to be moved to the basement because the candles kept catching my clothes on fire,” she said with an infectious laugh.

“Shit, I’m sorry Daisy.”

She stopped him, putting her hand up, “Look, I get it, I’m an easy target because I’m just a hayseed from the Midwest,” she turned and looked at Chris, “I appreciate the fact that you came to Disneyland with me.  I don’t remember last night, so I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself.  I’m nothing special, just an ordinary girl but the clock is about to strike midnight and my carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin.”

“What in the hell is a hayseed?”  Scott asked.

Before she could say anything else, the waiter approached the table and delivered the check.  Daisy offered to pay her portion but Chris told her this meal was on Disney.  They stood to leave and Daisy asked if they would be terribly offended if she asked them to just take her back to the hotel.  The excitement of the last two days had taken their toll on her and she was exhausted.  She actually sat in the back of the car on the way back to the hotel and had to fight to keep her eyes open.

Chris announced their arrival at the hotel and told Daisy he would pull into a parking spot and then walk her to her room.  He said he wanted to make sure she got to her room safely since he knew she was tired.

“Thank you and I don’t want to seem ungrateful but I don’t think it is a good idea for you to do that.  If anyone were to see you, it could be in the tabloids and you don’t need that and neither do I.  Maybe we should just say goodbye out here.”

There were no objections so Daisy got out of the car and Scott embraced her immediately.  His hug was tight and she had to admit she didn’t really want to let go.

“Give me your phone while you say goodbye to that one,” he said motioning to his brother.  “I want you to call or text me once in a while because I loved meeting you Daisy, you are just a doll.”

“Aw, thanks and I loved meeting you, too!  Put my number in your phone and feel free to call me whenever. ” They hugged once more and then Daisy walked over to Chris.  She kept her head down, unable to look up at him.

 

 


	6. Back to the Hotel

Saying goodbye to Chris was going to be harder than saying goodbye to Scott.  It was true, she did have a ‘thing’ for Chris but what woman watching the Captain America movies didn’t?  And meeting him, well he was every bit the handsome man she had anticipated, and then some.  He was goofy and adorable, he was literally the type of man she could see herself falling for.  Damn, she was admitting all of this to herself in the split second of time in which she has to look at him and tell him goodbye.  Why did she have to spend so much time during the day trying to distance herself from him?  Why did she have to pass up the opportunity to get a picture taken with him to have a lasting moment in time with him?  Why did she have to be such a fool?

But, there she was unable to look at him and needing to tell him all the things she needed to say without saying any of them.  “Thank you for an incredible two days, Chris.  I honestly didn’t expect to come out here for the premiere and then end up hanging out with the star of the movie.  I mean don’t you have a press junket or something to do?”

She winced after she said that, it sounded so harsh and hateful.  But her mind was racing and she was just trying to get the point across that she couldn’t believe he had spent time with her when she knew he had more important things to do.  It was evident she had no clue how to talk to men and she suddenly felt like little Steve Rogers trying to speak to Peggy Carter in the backseat of the car on the way to getting his serum injection.

“Well, it was my pleasure, Ms. Proctor and I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself.  As far as the press junket, well we did quite a few interviews before the movie premiere and I actually hit the road tomorrow for the international premieres,”  he slammed his hands in his pants pockets, nervous to continue his conversation with her.  “Make sure you don’t spoil the movie for anyone when you get back, okay?”

“I won’t, I promise,” she laughed, “Thanks again for everything.”  She turned back toward Scott, “Are you done with my phone yet?”

“Yep, all done!  I have a super secret Twitter account and I followed you so you can follow me back.  I don’t talk about you know who so you’d never know it was me.”

“So you went snooping on my phone?”  She asked, trying to sound offended.

“Of course!  You didn’t think it actually took me that long to put a phone number in did you?”

“Good point, thanks again!”  She said as she waved and began walking into the hotel.  She walked at a brisk pace because she wanted to get inside before the tears started to fall.  She had to admit that her heart broke just a little when she realized that Chris wasn’t going to give her a hug.  She had dreamed of having those arms around her and putting her head against that firm chest.  But when he put his hands in his pockets, well it was as if he was willing himself to keep his hands off of her; that stung.

As the guys got back in the car, Scott looked over at Chris, “No hug, man?  Damn, you’re a cold-hearted bastard.”

“No, complete opposite actually,” Chris offered quietly.

“Oh!” Scott immediately understood the reference, “Maybe you need to go to her room and give her a proper goodbye then.  I can get a cab home.”

“I have no idea what room she is in, first of all.  And, second of all, wouldn’t that be highly inappropriate?”

“When has that stopped you before?  And she is in room 2214, her room card was in her cell case and of course, I scoped it out.”

Chris sat there for a moment or two, not moving and unsure of what he should do.  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go to her room and say goodbye to her in private, right?”

“Is little Chris going to say goodbye?  Are you prepared?  Because I got ya covered, bro!”  Scott could not contain his smile and he loved being able to needle and poke fun at his older brother.

“I am not going to sleep with her!”

“I said nothing about sleeping, Chris, absolutely nothing.”  Chris got out of the car and moved toward the hotel entrance, Scott opened the door and yelled, “If you aren’t back in twenty minutes, I’m calling a cab.”

Chris kept repeating her room number over and over so that he wouldn’t forget it.  He stepped into the elevator and pressed the number twenty-two on the panel and then began to second guess his decision.  He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous.  He had never been this nervous before so what was it about this woman who had him in knots?  The elevator was slow and that wasn’t helping him at all.  He had just about talked himself out of going to see her when the doors opened on her floor.  He stepped out and followed the sign to the right towards her room number.  He approached her door, took a deep breath and then knocked.

Daisy had just taken her shoes and sweater off when she heard the knock on the door.  She wasn’t expecting anyone and she didn’t have anything in the car with her so she knew it couldn’t be Chris or Scott.  Besides, they didn’t know her room number.  She wasn’t going to answer, figuring it was someone knocking on the wrong door. 

As she moved to get her luggage to begin packing, she heard the soft knocks again on the door.  This time, they did seem a little more deliberate.  She padded to the door and looked out the peephole; as a single woman with very few defensive skills she didn’t want to just open the door and let anyone have access to her.  She was taken by surprise when she noticed it was Chris.  She immediately flung the door open.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was you, I was afraid someone was knocking on the wrong door,” she stammered to explain why she ignored his first knocks.

He gave her a wry smile, “It is okay, I realize you weren’t really expecting me and it’s good to know you are cautious about opening your door.”

She stepped to the side, “Please come in, excuse the mess, I was just starting to pack up.”

He walked in and glanced around the room, noting how clean the room was and in her mind she thought it was messy.  He made a mental note to work with her on the definition of a mess.  Once again, to combat his nervousness, he put his hands in his pockets and then turned to look at her; not saying a word, just watching her.

“You’ve been crying, are you alright?”  He asked as he took a step towards her.

She was surprised he noticed, “Um, yeah, I’m fine I just ran into the door when I came into the room.  Hurt my arm, but it’s okay.  I am a little klutzy, that’s all.”

“I don’t think that’s it but if you want to go with that story, okay,” Chris said as he took another step towards her; she didn’t move.  “See, I think you were upset because of something I did, or should I say, didn’t do when we said our goodbyes in the parking lot.”

“Oh?  And what might be?” She asked, her voice shaking.  She was trying to play coy but her heart was racing and she felt as if she had been caught.  “You said goodbye, what more was there to say?”

He took another step forward, placing his hands on either side of her face and gently pulling her toward him.  His lips lightly brushing against hers, soft and sweet, a kiss that wouldn’t burn the house down but would, at least, start an intense flame.  Her eyes closed and she was completely lost in the moment.  As he pulled away, her lips began to tingle and she could feel her legs turn to jelly; standing was going to be a problem.

“I think that about covers it,” he said softly, his lips still close to hers so she could feel his breath.  He dropped his hands and she caught them, holding them tight and not letting go.  “Is something wrong?”

She couldn’t speak and honestly, she wasn’t sure she was breathing, “Why…um..” she began to stammer, “What was that for?”

“I’m sorry,” He was suddenly concerned he has crossed the line and tried to step back but she wouldn’t let go of his hands, “I guess I was misreading...”

She released his hand and put one finger on his lips, “You didn’t misread from my end, Chris.  I just thought you weren’t really interested, that’s all.”  She removed her finger from his lips and just stared into his sparkling blue eyes. 

He couldn’t resist any longer and moved to capture her lips again, this time with a little more force and a lot more passion.  His tongue swept across her bottom lip, begging to for entrance to explore her mouth and she willingly gave it.  The kiss was deep and his hands moved to hold her hips and pull her body close to him.  She had her hands on his hips as well and it was taking everything within in power to keep them there.  She could tell he was aroused, with her body that close to him how could she not?  She wanted to move her hands to stroke him through his jeans and let him know she was willing to do more than kiss.  But she wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea.

Her mind was racing and Chris began to walk her backward until she felt the sudden stop of her back hitting the wall.  His hands started to explore her body and she felt him pull her tank top out of the top of her jeans.  When his hands touched her skin, she felt the jolt of electricity go through her body.  There was no doubt she was ready for him.  She reached for the button of his jeans and began to unfasten them and that is when things came to a screeching halt.

Chris stopped and took a step back, there was desire in his eyes but a look of confusion on his face.  Daisy was unsure what had happened and tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes, “What did I do wrong?” She asked, trying to keep from breaking down from utter embarrassment.

Chris was breathing heavily, “Nothing,” he stepped forward and smoothed her hair, “Oh, baby you didn't do anything wrong.  I just can’t take advantage of you like this.”  He reached up and wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, “Please don’t cry, you are beautiful and I promise you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“So this is the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?” She asked as she pulled herself together and walked toward the other side of the room.  She found it hard to walk, her legs were like jelly and she was more than a little worked up and wet.

He reached for her arm to stop her from getting away, “Daisy, I really like you and I have a tendency to fuck things up when I really like someone.  I don’t want to rush this and regret it in the morning.  I would like nothing more than to lay you on this bed right now and finish what we started, but I sincerely want you to respect me tomorrow and that wouldn’t happen if I did that.”

He pulled her close to kiss her again and despite her best effort she melted into him.  Chris held her in a tight embrace and let her know that he was not considering this the end for them.  He would call her and keep in touch and she wanted to believe him but she didn’t.  She knew that she was just a small town girl going back to her small town way of life and her opportunity to have a torrid affair with Captain America had just come to an end.

 


	7. Going Home

Daisy plopped down on the bed as Chris walked out of the room.  The temperature in the room had gone from sauna to freezer in a matter of seconds.  Although by the time he had walked out it had gone back to preheat mode.  She wanted to cry, somehow she had gone from a wallflower who was too scared to talk to any star of the movie or to even be within close proximity to them to being upset because the hot and heavy makeout session had been stopped.  To make it worse, she was going to have to go to sleep with an ache in her lady parts that she had not been anticipating.  Damn!

She decided the best thing to do was to take a shower and attempt to forget about everything that had transpired in the last thirty minutes.  She turned off her phone because she didn’t want to risk Chris telling Scott what happened and then Scott texting her about it.  She just wanted this trip to be over.

She stepped out of the shower, dried off and put on her pajamas.  She then decided to get all of her things packed.  Her flight out of LAX was supposed to leave at 11 am and she knew that she would need to be at the airport a little early.  She figured it would be best to just hang out there because the more time she spent in the hotel, the more the memories of the disaster with Chris would haunt her.  All of her bags were packed and she was ready.

~ * ~

Chris checked his watch as he exited the elevator in the lobby; it had been almost thirty minutes since he left Scott in the car.  He was pretty sure his brother had caught a cab so he was not in a hurry to get back to the car.  He was surprised to see that Scott had not left, in fact, he had reclined the front seat back and was taking a cat nap.  Chris couldn’t resist and slammed his hand against the window; Scott jumped out of the seat and Chris was pretty sure that Scott would need a change of pants when he got home.

“Dude, you scared the shit out of me, what the hell was that for?”

“Needed you to be awake when I got in the car, that’s all.”

“So, did you deflower our little Daisy?”  Chris just glared at his brother, “What?  Okay, so it was a bad joke, sorry.  But, did you?”

Chris hung his head and didn’t answer immediately and he felt like he didn’t really need to, but he also knew that Scott was not going to let this go.  “No, I didn’t deflower her, Scott.”

“Dude, you were up there for thirty minutes and you didn’t get busy?  What in the hell were you doing?”

“I thought you were going to leave if I wasn’t back in twenty minutes, so why are you still here?”

“I’m nosy, that’s all.  You’re scared of fucking this up aren’t you?”  My big brother really likes this girl,” Scott watched his brother for a minute and couldn’t keep a straight face and had to make light of the situation, “You couldn’t go through with it?  Performance issues, am I right?  There is no need to be ashamed, man,”

“No!  There were no performance issues, damn it!  We were close to crossing that line Scott, but I didn’t want to screw it up.”

“Chris, you do realize there is a 99.5% chance you will never see this girl again, right?  You won’t call her and you won’t text her.  You won’t end up in her small town at her bridal boutique just to say hello.  This was your opportunity and you blew it.”

He didn’t respond because deep down he knew that his brother was right.  The chances of seeing her again were somewhere between slim and none.  He would like to think that he would be brave enough to reach out to her but after making a fool of himself tonight, he wasn’t sure he could.

~ * ~

When Daisy woke the next morning, she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt.  She grabbed her bag and headed down to the lobby to check out.  Arrangements had been made for a van to take her from the hotel to the airport so she didn’t have to worry about transportation.  She got to the airport around 9 am and made it through security relatively quickly.  She found her way to her gate and stopped for some coffee and a trashy tabloid magazine. 

She found a seat near her gate and realized she was sitting close to the VIP lounge for American Airlines.  She had not been sitting there long when a buzz of electricity started moving through the terminal.  Evidently some celebrities were making their way through and fans were clamoring to see them.  She figured it was a Kardashian or something and didn’t pay any further attention.  She kept her head down and read her magazine. 

Several minutes later her cell phone chimed to indicate she had a text message.  She rifled through her purse and pulled out her phone, tapping the screen to see the message:  “Good morning beautiful, I have to admit, the ponytail looks good on you.”

She stared at the screen, the text was from Chris but how in the heck did he know what she looked like?  She didn’t glance up, she was afraid to.  The phone chimed again, “Look up and to your left and smile.”

She was puzzled but she did like the text message said, slowly raising her head and looking to the left.  She was staring into the VIP lounge where she saw Chris standing at the window wearing his trademark Leafs hat and dark sunglasses.  He waved at her and motioned for her to come to the door of the lounge.  She shook her head at first and he just kept nodding at her; this was not getting them anywhere.

The phone chimed, “quit being hard headed and come to the lounge door, I can get you in, I want to talk you.”

Reluctantly, Daisy stood up and gathered her purse and carry-on bag and headed for the VIP lounge.  As she approached, the lady at the door asked for her credentials to enter and was very snooty about it.  Before she could answer, Chris appeared and indicated that Daisy was being invited in as his guest.  The airline representative said nothing more and Daisy walked in.

Chris led her over to a table in the corner by the large windows looking out over the tarmac and the plane loading area.  He helped her into her chair and sat her bag on the floor next to his.  “Would you like something to drink?  Coffee or juice, maybe?”

“No, thanks.  I just finished a cup of coffee.”  She was nervous and didn’t really know how to react which seemed odd since they were so close to having sex the night before.

“What times does your flight leave,” Chris asked.  She could tell he was grasping to make conversation.

“It leaves at 11 am.  How about your flight?  I didn’t realize you were leaving out this morning and I guess you were the excitement that I heard a little earlier.”

“Unfortunately, it probably was.  My flight leaves at 10:45, so right before your’s,” he was fidgeting with his phone and trying to remain calm.  He stood up and walked over to stand next to her, needing to be close.  He took her hands and leaned into her, “Daisy, I am sorry about last night and I want you to know that I could not get you off my mind.  I went back and forth with whether I did the right thing or not.  My head said I did but I have to tell you the rest of my body did not agree.”

She began to blush and put her head down, “I’m not good with this kind of conversation, Chris.  I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Tell me that you wanted me after I left last night...tell me you wished I’d stayed with you and held you and took care of you.  Tell me you ached for me, Daisy.”

She could barely breathe let alone get the words out, “I…did Chris.”

Daisy was confused when Chris suddenly pulled away from her and diverted his eyes toward the doors of the lounge.  Walking into the area were other members of the cast, most notably, Robert.  Suddenly it made sense and Daisy understood his need to move away.  She could only hope that no one saw their intimate moment.

“Well, good morning,” Robert announced as he approached their table.  “So did you two end up making a love connection after all?  You did seem to be getting cozy at the reception as the evening wore on.”

Daisy began to blush at the first mention of the events of the reception, events she had no clear memory of.  “No, we were just trying to keep our conversation low so that we weren’t sharing with the entire room.”

“Oh,” Robert said, looking around as if it dawned on him that his voice was booming through the space, “Well, did you two have fun at Disney yesterday?”  Chris shot him a glare, “Easy boy, it was an innocent enough question, we all knew you two were going based on the conversation at the reception.”

“I had an excellent time, Robert, thank you for asking,” Daisy offered, “Chris and Scott were a lot of fun.”

“Oh, you had a chaperone, how sweet,” there was condescension in his tone.

Daisy stood and picked up her bag, “Thanks for the coffee, Chris.  I am going to go back to the gate to wait for my flight.  You all will be leaving soon anyway.  Have a great trip and good luck with the international press.”

Chris stood in front of her, “Please don’t go,” his eyes were pleading with her to stay.

“I need to if I stay I am only delaying the inevitable.  Good luck, Chris, I promise I will follow your escapades online.”

He took a step forward and, without regard for the audience around him, kissed her.  The kind of lingering kiss that a lover provides at the end of a romantic movie that makes every woman in the audience swoon.  “I’m going to miss you, Daisy Proctor and I hope you realize that you are not going to get rid of me so easily.”

It took a minute for her to move and when she did, she noticed that everyone was watching her.  She pulled her shoulders back and stood as straight as she could and willed her body to move toward the door.  She walked out of the lounge, not looking back and not uttering a word to anyone.  Instead of walking to the seat she had occupied before joining Chris, she made a beeline for the bathroom.  She locked herself in a stall and broke down because this hurt.  Her heart ached and she suddenly did not want to go back to her small town life.

She heard the announcement for his flight to begin boarding.  She elected to stay in the sanctuary of the bathroom until she felt reasonably sure that it was safe to come out.  Or at least, until the boarding for her flight had been announced.  She checked her watch and realized her flight would be called soon.  She reached for her phone and noticed that during her breakdown she had missed a few text messages, she didn’t look at them.  She only turned off the phone and slid it back down into her bag.  She exited the stall and quickly washed her face and tried to go back to looking presentable and not like she had just cried like a lovesick teenager.

She walked out of the bathroom and headed for her gate, as she did, she glanced over and found Chris waiting outside his gate as if he was hoping to see her one last time.  He didn’t wave or acknowledge her but just turned and walked down the jetway to his plane.

When Daisy’s plane was announced, she jumped up and headed towards the gate.  The attendant scanned her ticket and she made her way down the jetway.  She took her seat and tried to push out all of the thoughts of the last few days.  The rollercoaster emotions she had felt and the instant attraction she had with Chris.

She was exhausted and luckily she fell asleep; rest she had not been able to capture the last two nights had finally caught up with her on the plane.   When the plane landed, some five hours later, she was rested enough to handle the drive back home.  She had a little over an hour drive and she had to hope there were no traffic issues since it was late in the day.

When she pulled into her driveway, she noticed that her friends were sitting on her front stoop waiting to hear about her adventures!

 


	8. Back to Normal?

The alarm clock was buzzing and Daisy reached over to stop the incessant buzzing.  It was Saturday morning and it was back to the reality of being a shop owner and businesswoman.  The store had been closed since Monday and since Saturday was traditionally a busy day, it only made sense to open back up.  However, she was dragging and lacking the proper motivation to get going. 

When she had arrived home on Thursday, her friends were waiting for her but she was too tired to fill them in on the details of her trip.  She really just wanted a date with her fluffy pillows and soft blankets.   So, she made up for it by having an old fashioned girls night at her place last evening.  She made a big pasta dinner and salad and had enough wine to get through the stories.  She knew she would have to tell them everything she could remember; these were her best friends and they were big Marvel junkies so she couldn’t leave anything out.  And, in some weird twist of fate, they all like different members of the ‘team’ so they didn’t ever argue over one guy or girl.

Daisy began to recount the story of getting to the premiere and the sheer number of people in the theater including the wall-to-wall celebrities and media and how she tried to stay small and out of the way.  She told the story about her seats and how she was lucky enough to end up between Chris and Sebastian for the movie.  She even told them how Chris gave her a tissue when she started to cry; she just left out what was going on in the movie that made her cry.  She told them that she would not spoil anything but they would need tissues!

She also made sure they knew that when they were ready to see the movie they could ask her to go; she would easily go see it again and there would be no arm twisting involved.  She loved the movie and was sure she would need to see it multiple times to completely process everything.  She did leave out the fact that Chris came back to the theater to find her and she left out his move in the street to get her to go to the reception.  Those were things they didn’t need to know.

They asked about the reception after the premiere and she recalled how she met them all and how they signed a movie poster that was being sent to the store.  She was going to get it framed and hang it there for everyone to see.  Although, she wondered if it would be better of in her bedroom where only she could see it because someone might steal it from the store.  Everyone laughed but they wanted to know dirty details – did she dance or get drunk?  Did she kiss anyone?  They knew that Daisy didn’t like talking about anything intimate but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to try and get something out of her.  Besides, they knew she had a thing for Chris Evans and she had always been a big talker about what she would do to him if she ever met him.  Now it was time to see if she would ever walk the talk.

“Daisy, you have skipped over anything remotely interesting for Chris…so, did you have any alone time with him?”  Her friend Alexis asked.

“Well…um….yeah…sorta...” Daisy was stammering and everyone in the room knew that it meant she had something to say and just didn’t now how to get the words out.  “I met him at the bar at the reception and he got me a drink and we talked.”

“Is that all you did, Daisy?”

“Well, we had several drinks,” she said shyly.

“How many exactly?”  Alexis pried, she was dying for more details.

“I’m not sure, I lost count.  I remember a few things here and there, I know that my being nervous around him faded after the liquid courage set in.  We talked and I am pretty sure we flirted but didn’t do anything.  I didn’t kiss him or anything if that is what you want to know.”

“Did you dance with him?”

“No, I don’t remember there being dancing at the party but there could have been and I don’t remember it.”

“So you could have danced with him and just don’t remember it, is that a possibility?”

“Wow, are you going all lawyer on me now, Alexis?”

“Sorry, it just comes naturally.”

“Yeah, I could have danced with him, I could have kissed him, I could have shagged him in the bathroom but I don’t remember it if I did.  I just know I woke up the next morning in my hotel room fully dressed, by myself and my panties still on.  So, I am reasonably sure nothing happened.”

With her declaration, the girls finally backed off and let her tell the rest of her story.  She told them about her trip to Disney and her dinner at Club 33 but she left out the fact that she spent the day with Chris and his brother Scott.  She also skipped over the entire incident in her hotel room with Chris.  It was killing her because she wanted to tell them how he smelled and how he tasted.  How he felt when she was in his arms and how the idea of letting him go hurt almost as much as the ache to have him continue to touch her did.  She wanted to tell them about her seeing him in the airport terminal and the scorching kiss he gave her in front of his co-stars.  The pain that she felt when she walked out of the lounge or when she saw him for the last time before he boarded his plane to go do the premiere international tour.

She wanted to explain that he was the reason everyone had to call her on her landline phone and why she told everyone her cell phone was broken.  That she had fallen so hard for him that she couldn’t bear to see the text messages that she was sure he had sent her over the last two days.  Because she knew her friends would also remind her that she was living in a fantasy world; she was a small town girl who owned a bridal store that barely stayed afloat.  Girls like her didn’t have torrid affairs with major Hollywood movie stars.  It was time to go back to her normal life.

Daisy swung he legs off the bed and padded her way to her kitchen, she had to laugh because the thought crossed her mind that her entire house could probably fit inside the hotel room she occupied in LA.  Just another dose of reality slapping her in the face.  She put on a pot of coffee and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready, it was not yet 7 am.

After getting dressed, doing her hair and putting on her makeup to look somewhat presentable, she made a travel mug of coffee and drove into downtown to open the shop.  She had made arrangements with Mack, her UPS driver, for him to deliver her packages to a locked storage shed on the back of her store while she was closed.  He had a key and knew the combination to the alarm code, she had known Mack since high school so she trusted him with the arrangement. 

When she opened the shed after getting the store opened, she was shocked to see the number of boxes that had been delivered.  She didn’t remember that she had this much product coming.  She began moving the boxes into the store so she could unload them and start hanging the dresses and steaming out the wrinkles.  This was such a mundane task but it made her feel like she was back into her usual routine.

She had a steady stream of customers that morning.  So between handling the clients and her new inventory, she had lost all track of time.  So, it was a surprise when she looked up and saw her best friend Melody walking in with a brown paper bag.

“I figured you would forget to eat lunch, so I thought I would deliver,” she announced while walking through the front door.  Melody owned the café down the street.

“Please tell me you brought your homemade chicken salad,” Daisy begged.

“Of course, extra pecans and grapes just for you!

“Bless you, my child,” she said as she rushed over to the counter and cleared off space for them to be able to eat.  “I am starving so you are my savior!  If you don’t mind, we can eat here because then I can keep an eye on the store in case anyone comes in.”

Melody took the time to fill Daisy in on the town gossip that they didn’t get to last night with all of the conversation about the trip to California.  There was the excitement over the fight at the tavern and Jimmy getting thrown out, again.  And the domestic call that Sheriff Pike had to take care of out in the county.  There was nothing earth shattering but this was typical small town gossip that Daisy lived for.  When there are only 6,000 people in your town, you know everyone and everything that is going on.

In the middle of their conversation, the butler bell above the door rang and they looked up to see Greg from the flower shop walking in with a large arrangement of flowers;  multi-colored roses and lilies, her favorites.

“Afternoon, ladies, the gentleman who ordered these told me to make the biggest arrangement I could with the flowers that you liked the most.  I know you love lilies so that is what I did and put some roses in for good measure because what woman doesn’t like roses, am I right?”

“Greg, you did a fantastic job with this arrangement,” Melody gushed, “These flowers are beautiful.  So who in the world sent these to our little Daisy?”

“He said she would know but that I am supposed to tell her, and Daisy, I am sorry but I have to quote him.”  Greg looked down at his clipboard and said nervously, “Turn on your damn cell phone and quit ignoring my messages.”

Melody turned and looked at Daisy, who had her head down as if ashamed, “So, your cell phone is off and not broke?  What in the world are you hiding little lady?”

“Greg, do you need me to sign for these?”  She said, extending her hand for the clipboard so she could sign the delivery slip.  “Thank you, and Melody is right, you did a fantastic job, they are beautiful.”

“My pleasure, Daisy.  Have a good day!”  Greg said as he turned and left the store.

As soon as he was gone and the coast was clear, Melody jumped at her chance to question her.  “Daisy, what have you been hiding?  Who are these from?  Spill the beans, girl!”

Daisy let out a heavy sigh, she wasn’t sure she was ready to go through this, not right now, it was still too fresh and she hadn’t even been brave enough to turn on her phone yet.  But Melody was her best friend and if anyone should know the secret, it would be her.  Although, as her best friend she would also be pushing her to take the next step and get out of her comfort zone.  While Daisy would spin the tale that she broke up with Michael because she didn’t want to get married, that wasn’t really the truth.  She did want to get married, more than anything but she didn’t want to marry Michael.  He was a great guy but he was not Prince Charming and damn Disney for making her think that he would ride a white horse and save the day.  But Prince Charming didn’t exist and that meant Daisy could never find the right guy.

“Fine, but no judgments and I don’t want everyone else knowing about this.  I mean it Melody, it stays between you and me.”

 

 

 


	9. Spill the Beans

As Daisy prepared to tell her story,  Melody watched the expression on her best friend’s face turn serious and it scared her. Daisy had always been a fun loving, free spirit and while she was shy in social situations outside of town, she was always comfortable and easy going when it came to talking with her friends.  This, however, was a look she had not seen for some time.  “Okay, you have my word, Daisy.  This is serious, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, just a little bit,” She said and then began to recount the details of the premiere and the reception.  She gave her the details about Chris finding her in her seat and leading her out to the lobby and his arm around her waist in the street and whispering in her ear.  She recounted how he slammed drinks with her at the bar during the reception and how she couldn’t remember doing anything with him.  However, she had evidently given him her phone number since he texted her the next day; seem she had invited him to go to Disney with her.

“No way?  You spent your day at Disney with him?  Jesus Daisy, why didn’t you tell us this shit last night?”

“Yeah, the entire day with him and his brother Scott.  We even had dinner together.  And why didn’t I tell you guys?”  Daisy ran took a drink from her water bottle, “C’mon Mel, you know if I would have that either Alexis or Tangie would have put it on the internet by now.  It would be on Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet they use.  I don’t want them knowing because they will never let it go and nothing, I mean, nothing happened.”

Melody just watched her friend cycle through the emotions as she told the story.  She could tell there was more to the story and she would kick herself if she didn’t push, “Fine, so maybe nothing happened at the park or at dinner but there’s more to the story then you are telling me.  You don’t turn off your phone for harmless flirting and the exchange of a phone number, Dase.”

She looked exasperated but knew she had to do this, “Yeah, there is more.  After dinner, I had had them take me back to my hotel.  I said goodbye to Scott and got a hug, but when I said goodbye to Chris he didn’t touch me.  In fact, he shoved his hands in pockets like he was making a point not to touch me; I was humiliated.  I spent all day and evening with him and the goodbye was cold and unfeeling.”

“Wow, that is awful.  I could see why you might be a little upset.”

“Yeah, so I went to my room and about ten minutes later he showed up at my door.  I let him in, not sure why, but I did and he said he thought I might be upset for what he didn’t do in the parking lot.”

“Cheeky bastard, isn’t he?  And terribly full of himself.”

“Well he was right so I can’t really say fault him, he could read it in my face most likely.  He took a step or two toward me and then he kissed me.  Mel, I’m telling you the earth moved, fireworks went off, and the dam broke if you catch my drift,”  she stopped and took another drink of water.  She had just said more than she had expected to say and felt a bit embarrassed for actually saying it.  “He had me up against the wall and it was getting intense; I got bold enough to unbutton his jeans, I mean I was really willing to go all the way with this.  And he just stopped, he put on the brakes and backed away from me.”

Melody was stunned; first, for the fact that her friend was willing to actually get busy with a man she hardly knew.  But second, for the fact that he had put the brakes on and stopped; that wasn’t something that she would have anticipated.  She could tell this is what was upsetting Daisy the most, it was shaking her confidence and confusing her.  Not to mention the rejection of her crush had to hurt.  “Why did he stop, Daisy?”

“He said that he liked me and didn’t want to screw it up and wanted me to respect him in the morning and if he had sex with me that wouldn’t happen.  He said he wanted nothing more than to finish what he started but it wouldn’t be right.  Or some bullshit like that,” there was contempt in her voice as she recounted his words.

“Daisy, you know he has a playboy persona so maybe he was sincere.  So, is that it or did anything else happen?”

“I left the hotel and went to the airport early on Thursday morning.  Lucky me, my gate happened to be right next to the American VIP lounge where he was waiting for his flight out to do the international premiere stuff.  He had me come in and sit with him and he admitted that while his brain told him he had made the right decision to leave my room the night before, the rest of his body said he should have stayed; he wanted to know if I wished he had stayed.” Daisy began playing with her water bottle, which was now empty, because it was becoming harder to talk about this.  She took a deep breath, “I had to leave because it was getting close to time for his flight and all of his costars were arriving.  He didn’t want me to go and he decided it would be appropriate to kiss me in front of everyone.  Mel, this was a deep kiss that started a fire in my soul, and I walked away.  I just walked away and turned off my phone and haven’t turned it on since.”

Melody took a step forward and pulled her best friend into a hug, “It sounds to me as if my shy little flower has fallen really hard for her superhero who happens to be a Disney prince.”  She stepped back and put her hands on Daisy’s shoulders, “So, you haven’t talked to him since he kissed you in the VIP lounge?”

She nodded her head in agreement, “And I have been too afraid to turn the phone back on.”

“I love you like a sister and we have been best friends since fourth grade, so I can tell you this with all the love and respect in the world.  You are a fucking idiot!  Get your phone out and at least, look at your messages.  He kissed you and you kissed him back, give him a chance Daisy.  And besides, he bought you flowers!  You dated Michael for two years and the idiot never bought you flowers.”

“But you just said, he has a playboy reputation…”

“Yeah and people change all the time.  He put himself out there and if he said he was scared to screw things up you went and proved his point.”  Melody walked over to where Daisy’s purse was sitting and fished her phone out; turning it on, listening for the familiar tune that indicates the phone is booting up.  She handed it to her, “Daisy, read the messages and see what he has to say and then call him.  You are miserable and I bet he is too.   For once Daisy, take a chance and don’t play it safe.”

Reluctantly, Daisy took her phone and looked down at her missed messages and calls.  She had fourteen missed phone calls and sixteen missed text messages.  Several of the phone calls were from friends who forgot that she said her phone was ‘broken.’  She noticed that four of the missed calls had come from Scott while five of them had come from Chris. 

“I guess Chris had his brother try calling in the hopes I would answer at least one of them,” she said aloud as she scanned through the call history.   

Once she finished reviewing the call history, she began to look at the missed text messages.  Most of them were from Chris but Scott had sent his fair share.  Once again, she surmised that Scott was being used to at least illicit a response because he was the ‘safer’ brother.

The messages from Chris were all a variation of:  

                _Are you okay?_

_Why won’t you return my messages?_

_What did I do wrong?_

_Please talk to me, I’m sorry_

The messages from Scott were variations of: 

                _Are you alright?_

_What did Chris do to make you mad?_

_Why won’t you text or call him?_

_Why are you mad at me?  I didn’t do anything!_

As she was scrolling through the messages, the phone chimed to tell her a new message had arrived.

_I know the flowers were delivered and you got my message.  I’m sorry for whatever I did, please call me.  I’m worried about you and want to know you are okay._

Daisy read the text aloud and Melody smiled.  She had to admit that Daisy was overreacting just a little bit.  Okay, it was out of the ordinary and extremely unlikely that a major movie star would fall for a small town girl but stranger things have happened.  It was evident from the messages, and the flowers, that Chris was in this about as deep as Daisy was and they were both fighting it.

“Daisy, I have coverage at the café so I can watch your store.  Take the phone, go to your office and call the guy back.  You can’t ignore him and you know you don’t want to.  If nothing else, have the decency to thank him for the flowers and, at least, let him know that you are alive.

Daisy stared at her phone for a few moments as if she were really thinking about it; she had her mind made up already that she was going to call him.  She just didn’t want to seem overly anxious to call.  She finally started walking toward her office when she looked over her shoulder at Melody, “You’re sure you can cover me for like five minutes, right?”

Melody started laughing and nodded her head in acknowledgment as she watched the door to the office close.  She knew this was going to take longer than five minutes.

Daisy hit the redial button on the phone as she closed the door.  The phone had not even completed one full ring when it was answered and she heard his frantic voice “Daisy, is that you?”

Her voice was shaky as she answered, “Yeah, Chris, it’s me.  I noticed I had a few messages on my phone from you when I got it working today.  So, I guess you were trying to reach me, huh?”

He let out a nervous laugh, “When you got it working or when you actually turned it on?”

“Well…yeah…when I turned it on,” she admitted.

“I just kept calling and texting in the hopes you would turn it on and call me back.  I was starting to get a little worried.”

“I noticed you had Scott call,” she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Well, when all else fails, get a non-threatening man to call and scope out the situation.  Besides, you two seem to have hit it off and he is a big fan of yours.”

“I like Scott and yeah, we did hit it off.  But I was just afraid to talk to either one of you, actually.”

“I’m confused Daisy, which I guess isn’t that hard to understand since I am a guy and all.  But, I thought I had tried to tell you that I was interested in you and didn’t want to screw it up.  But I guess I did anyway?  Help me understand what I did wrong, please.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you did anything wrong,” she took a deep breath, she was not sure how to say this but figured they would work it out no matter what.  “Chris, you said it yourself, you were afraid you would mess something up and, well, frankly, so was I.  Afraid I would mess something up, I mean.  For some reason, we seem to have made a connection and it makes absolutely no sense because I am not your type of girl.”

“Hey, why would you say that?  How would you know that you aren’t my type of girl?”  His voice was light but she could tell he was a little offended at the notion.

“I guess because I am not the Hollywood type and I live in a small town,” she started to laugh, “Chris, I’m not exactly the trophy girlfriend, you know.”

“Oh!  Yeah, I gave up on the trophy girlfriend idea years ago, Daisy.  They need too much polishing and are too high maintenance, I am looking for the non-Hollywood type.  The down to earth, sweet, beautiful little shop owners who have a sense of humor and can laugh at themselves.”

“That is a very specific type you are looking for, Chris.  I guess it is hard to find that kind of girl, especially with your busy schedule and such.”

“Oh, absolutely, so when I find her, well I worry that I will mess it up because I’ve been looking for her for so long.  So, tell me, Daisy Proctor, do you think you might be willing to, at least, give me a chance?”  He waited for a minute to see if she responded and when she didn’t say anything he offered, “I’m not asking for a commitment, Daisy.  Just for me and you to text and talk and get to know one another.  At least, give it a chance to see if something forms between us.”

 

 

 


	10. So It Begins

Daisy could not immediately answer Chris because she was couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.  She knew it was killing him because she wasn’t answering but she was utterly giddy with what he had said.  She tried to pull herself together and make herself sound composed and reflective.

“I can give it a chance, Chris.  To be completely fair and honest, I want it to work, I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

“You need more confidence in yourself, I’ll have to work on that with you.  But, I need to ask, seriously, there is no shrine is there?”

“No, we had to dismantle the statue we built due to code violations and we just haven’t had time to put a new one together.”  This time she waited for him to respond, he didn’t.  The silence was almost deafening.  “I’m kidding, for the love of God, there is no shrine or statue to you in town, in my yard, in my basement, or in my closet.”

He let out a heavy sigh, “Oh, thank God!  I was seriously hoping you and Scott were teasing the other day but I never know and I didn’t want to be caught off guard or anything.”

“Oh, you are gullible.  Hey, how in the hell did you know where to send flowers when I never told you where I live or the name of my store?”

“I asked Kevin’s assistant, Amanda, for help.  She had your address from the contest so I knew what town you lived in and I prayed there was a flower shop and that they knew you and would be willing to help me out.”

“Wow!  You really went all out, that is some serious detective work, Mr. Evans.”

“Yeah, well don’t be too impressed because it was Robert’s idea.  He said he was sick of moping around like a lovesick puppy and that I needed to either get over it or do something about it.  He suggested getting your information from Amanda when I began whining about how I had no way of getting ahold of you since your phone was turned off.”

“I guess they all hate me because I am ruining the tour?”

“No, on the contrary.  Robert adores you and has told me if I do anything remotely stupid and hurt you that he will make me suffer.  Anthony thought you were really a sweet girl and is still impressed with the amount of liquor you can drink and wants me to keep you around for entertainment value, alone.”

“I have one rule for our new, whatever we are calling this,” Daisy started to say but Chris interrupted her.

“It is a relationship Daisy, we are going to call this a relationship.  We won’t define what the relationship is at the moment but you need to say it,” Chris chided.

“Fine, our relationship,” she actually struggled to say it, “A rule we have to have is that you need to fill in the blanks about the reception and what happened when I started drinking with you.”

“You mean you don’t remember?”

“No, I don’t,” she quietly answered, “Please tell me I didn’t do anything foolish?”

“Do you think dancing on the bar is foolish?”  Chris’ voice was steady and Daisy could not tell if he was serious or if he was kidding.  Since he gave nothing away in his voice, she couldn’t respond, she was dead silent.  He loved it, “Do you think giving Jeremy Renner a lap dance was foolish?”

Daisy could feel her face starting to flush.  While she wouldn’t think these were things she would do, she also had no idea how much she had to drink so she could not, with any certainty, say she didn’t do it.  “Um, please tell  me that I did not do those things, Chris.”

“Hey, Daisy, baby, I gotta go, they are ready for the next set of interviews.  I will call you later, I promise.  Bye, doll,” and with that, Chris quickly hung up the phone.   He immediately burst out laughing and started walking over towards Robert and Jeremy.

“Dorito is smiling, which means he got the girl on the phone and worked everything out,” Robert surmised as Chris approached.  “Although, what has you laughing so hard right now?”

“I did talk to Daisy and we were able to work everything out.  She doesn’t remember the reception, I mean after she started drinking, she doesn’t remember anything.”

“Oh, really?  And you decided to have a little fun with that?”

“Well yeah, come on, wouldn’t you?  I told her that she gave Renner a lap dance and she danced on the bar.”

“Wait!  Don’t pull me into your twisted little game!”  Jeremy said with mock indignation.

“I’ll tell her the truth later, but this will serve her right for making me worry for two damn days while she had her phone turned off.”

The guys continued their conversation as they began making their way towards the press room for the next round of interviews. 

Daisy hung up the phone and sat in silence for a moment, trying to pull herself together and maintain composure so she could go back out to the store.  She stood up, grabbed her phone and opened the door.  She noticed that Melody had cleaned up the mess from lunch and had started using the steamer to get the wrinkles out of one of the new dresses that was hanging nearby.  When Melody heard the door open, she turned the steamer off and headed back to the counter to get the update.

“Daisy, are you okay?  You are white as a ghost girl, are you going to be sick?”

“I’m going to be okay.  I think I was gone longer than five minutes so I am really sorry.”

“Did you and Chris work everything out?”

“Yeah, we did and we are officially in a relationship. Don’t get overly excited we aren’t defining what type of relationship but we are going to talk and text and get to know one another and see what happens.”

“How very, adult of you both,” Melody said and then started laughing, “So, you’re ghost white because you’re dating a superhero or what?”

“No, I’m ghost white because my superhero told me that at the reception when I was drinking and I can’t remember what I did – well, it seems I danced on the bar and gave a lap dance to Jeremy Renner!”

Melody tried to keep a straight face but it was no use, she burst out laughing, “Oh he has to be kidding because there is no way you could do a lap dance – you don’t have the rhythm for it.”

“Oh thanks, Melody!  Not, I wouldn’t do it because I am not that kind of girl but because I don’t have the skill set?” 

Melody was still having a hard time controlling her laughter, “Honey, I honestly think he has to be yanking your chain.  I have a feeling there is no way, no matter how drunk you were, that you would do something that crazy and not remember it.”

Daisy tried to shake it off and let it go.  But it kept eating away at her and she would just hold off and talk to him about it later.  Once she got Melody’s laughter under control, the two ladies worked on the inventory in the store.  Melody had decided to just spend the rest of the day there with her because it was more fun than the café.  Plus it was a nice change of pace.  They had very little foot traffic in the store but they did get several calls to book gown fittings.  Those were the days that Daisy looked forward to the most; helping women find that special dress that they wanted to wear when they walked down the aisle to say, ‘I do.’

It was finally 6 pm and time to close up for the night.  Melody locked up and pulled down the shade on the front door.  She turned on the soft lights in the big picture window that illuminated the new wedding dress that had just been delivered while she had been out.  Daisy had worked to put the display together in the afternoon so it could be showcased in the window.

She broke down the boxes and took them out to the dumpster and had the shop back in shape and was ready to head home. She didn’t feel like cooking so she ran through a drive-thru window; not healthy eating but she didn’t care.  She had just walked into the house and settled into her oversized recliner when her phone rang – it was Chris.

“I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I?  I have no idea of the time difference right now,” he rambled.

“I just got home from work and was going to eat a cheeseburger and fries, so you have perfect timing,” she said back to him, a smile in her voice that she was sure he could hear.

“By all means, eat, I don’t mind.  So, how was your first day back at work?”

“Not many customers but I had this guy on the phone, he was so needy and emotional.  Really set the tone for the day, he has a sexy voice on the phone, though, I have to give him that.”

“Needy and emotional, huh?  Well, most likely some woman is the cause of that.  You know they are the root of all problems, right?”

“Good thing you’re not that needy and emotional because we might have problems,” Daisy started giggling like she was a teenager.  She was finding it easier to banter with Chris even though just hours earlier there was drama regarding their existence of any relationship between them.

Daisy asked about the press and Chris gave details about where he was and the incessant interviews where they are answering the same questions over and over again.  He loved that people were able to finally see this movie and they were immensely proud of it, but he hated doing the interviews and being asked the same questions over and over in different languages.

Daisy had agreed that when he was starting to feel stressed, no matter the time of day, he should just start texting her and she would respond back.  She would do her best to help calm him down or make him laugh, whatever he might need.  They talked about his anxiety issues and what triggers he had and what worked best in terms of helping him cope. 

“You know, everyone thinks I drink heavily and I am drunk in interviews,” Chris whispered.

“It’s the medication isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I don’t actually like taking it and I try to avoid it.  But sometimes, well, sometimes this whole thing is all too overwhelming.”

“Which is why you meditate, right?”

“Are you sure you don’t have a shrine?”

“No, no shrine but I have read articles on you.  I may, or may not, have found you somewhat attractive in the past.”

Chris sat up straight when he heard her acknowledge this, “So when Scott was teasing you about having a crush.  Was he pretty close, Daisy?”

“I plead the fifth, Mr. Evans.”  She snorted back at him.

“Did you just snort at me?  Holy crap, you have a crush on me and you snort when you laugh.  I have hit the girlfriend jackpot!”  Chris declared, wondering if she would make a comment to him using the ‘g-word’ since they had said their relationship was undefined earlier.

“I never confirmed or denied that I have or had a crush on you.  Your brother said that in a mocking tone and if memory serves, Mr. Evans, he accused you of having a crush on me as well.”

“Yes, he did and I fully admit that I have a crush on you.  So, there!”

“Oh,” she wasn’t really expecting him to own up to it, “Fine, I have a crush on you and I did not miss you slipping in the g-word, Chris.  And, for the record, I am not going to argue with your use of it.”

“Does that mean you will call me your boyfriend?”

“I guess if I have to,” she said in a sing-song voice, playing along with him.  “Chris, please tell me that you were teasing me earlier about dancing on the bar and giving Jeremy a lap dance.  I have been worried about that all day.”

“You really don’t remember that night?”

“I just know I woke up in my hotel room and didn’t remember getting there.  I checked to see if I was alone, if I was dressed, and if my clothes were on the right way.”

Chris was laughing heartily and she could just imagine that he was clutching his chest and doubled over.  “Oh sweetie, you were very drunk and it was my fault.  The more you drank, the easier it was for you to have a conversation.  You weren’t as nervous or shy and your eyes sparkled – you were having fun.  After three or four, I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to stand so I walked you over to a table and we sat and talked.  Nothing personal, we talked movies and music and sports.  I know you hate the Patriots.”

“Yeah, that might be a problem for our relationship.”

“You sat very close to me when Mackie and his wife, Sebastian and his girlfriend and Scarlett and her husband joined us.  You let me put my arm around you and you even put your head on my shoulder.  It was sweet and we did dance when the music was playing and the crowd had thinned.  Slow dance, you didn’t dirty dance, lap dance or strip for anyone.   We did exchange phone numbers and you asked me to join you at Disney and when I took you to the car, so George could drive you back, you kissed me and told me you loved me.”

The blood in her veins ran ice cold because suddenly that came back to her.  She remembered standing near the car, her arms around his neck and kissing him good night and telling him she loved him.  “Oh my God, I even propositioned you that night, I remember,” she said with her voice so faint and full of embarrassment and disdain for herself.

“You did and I didn’t take you seriously because I knew you had been drinking and honestly, I was wicked drunk, too.  I think George would have killed me if I even considered it.  He took you back to the hotel and helped you get to your room.”

“How in the world could you even look at me the next day?  I guess I was lucky I didn’t remember because there is no way I would have gone to Disney with you had I remembered any of that.”

 


	11. A New Routine

Over the next week, life had settled into a routine for Daisy and Chris.  While his world was filled with international movie premieres and press junkets, he would call and text Daisy throughout the day.  They had become one another’s touchstone; needing to communicate with one another to find normalcy and balance no matter what the circumstances.

They didn’t speak any further regarding the reception or Daisy’s declaration of love.  He made it clear he took it as her being intoxicated and the fact that she had a crush; he didn’t think she was serious.  He also knew she was embarrassed by it and did not want to tease her about it and make her feel worse.  He only remarked that maybe one day she might say it and mean it and not have to get drunk first.

Daisy told Melody what had happened, she needed someone to talk to about it and for them to be supportive.  Melody is also the only person she trusted to know abut her relationship status with Chris.  Daisy was not comfortable referring to her and Chris as dating since they had technically never gone on a date and their entire relationship had been via text message and phone call.  She was in no way ashamed to be with Chris, on the contrary, she was at the point now where she was over the moon about it.

She was just not ready to share her news with her other friends because of the ramifications of doing so.  See, several of her friends were social media freaks.  They couldn’t get out of bed without tweeting it or putting it on Instagram.  So sharing with a few of her friends would be like putting it on the newsfeed at the bottom of CNN – the world would know about it in a matter of moments.

The only other person who had been trusted with the news of her relationship with Chris was his brother, Scott.  Daisy was regularly texting and calling him as well.  She also tweeted him and his super secret account but keeping with their pact, those tweets never discussed Chris. 

The weekend was upon her and she had several appointments set up over the next two days for bridal gown selections.  Her store was small but she had worked hard to carry designer gowns that were not readily available at the other shops in her area.  This set her boutique apart and allowed her to have a steady stream of business from outside of her community.  The big city stores might carry some of these designers but Daisy had worked very hard to give each customer a personalized experience that they might not get at other boutiques. 

Daisy was rushing to get things ready for her first appointment when the door to the shop opened and her mother came walking in.  Her stomach dropped, her mother always made her nervous when she came into the shop.   Martha Proctor was every bit the free spirit that Daisy was but could not understand her daughter’s fascination with weddings and romance and fluffy white dresses.   She encouraged her daughter when she announced she wanted to open a bridal boutique; she thought it was a passing fancy though and she would come to her senses about it.  Five years later, the store was still open and Daisy had no intentions of giving up her store to pursue a ‘real job’ like Martha had asked.

“Oh, dear you have entirely too much makeup on this morning, you need to go fix your face,” her mother announced as she walked into the store.  Obviously forgoing the traditional greeting of ‘good morning’ or ‘hello dear.’

Daisy did not turn around, she continued to prepare the dressing room for the appointments and the racks of dresses pulled for today’s brides to be.  “Good morning to you too, mother.  I don’t  have too much makeup on, you just don’t like it when I wear any at all.”

“Well, that might be, dear.  Are you not going to come and give me a hug?  I swear, I haven’t seen you in weeks and you can’t call or even acknowledge that I exist.”

Daisy put her head down and chuckled, her mother always did have the flair for the dramatic.  She walked over and gave her mom a hug and a peck on the cheek.  “You look particularly lovely today, what brings you into town?”  She asked as she turned to go back to her duties.

“Well, my daughter takes a trip to California and then is home for a week and we never hear a peep from her.  I needed to see if you were still alive.  I mean just because Greg at the flower shop said he delivered flowers to you and the Sheriff said he saw you at Melody’s café didn’t really mean you were home.”

“Sorry, being gone for almost a week put me behind and I have been trying to get caught up,” she began straightening hangers and moving merchandise around.  “Besides, I knew you and dad were working on that winery thing so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Oh, poppycock!  You are hiding something missy and I am determined to figure out what it is.  I know we can go for days without talking but this is more than a week, two actually because you never called while you were in la-la land.”

Daisy sighed heavily, “Mom can we do this later, please?  Today is going to be busy and I need to be in a good mood to handle these brides and their families.  How about I come out to the house for dinner tonight after the store closes and I promise to fill you in on everything?”

Martha watched her daughter closely for a minute, unsure if she was telling her the truth or just trying to feed her a line to get her out of the store.  She finally reconciled that it was a bit of both, “Fine, that will work.  I will have your dad grill up something delightful for you.  But Daisy, please wipe that stuff off of your face before you come over tonight and let your hair down.  I don’t know you insist on putting it up when you are so beautiful with it hanging down.” 

Daisy did all she could to hold her tongue and not respond; this was how her mom was and she should be used to it by now.  “Ok, see you tonight, mom.”

Daisy heard the bell ring as Martha opened the door and stepped out of the shop and back onto Main Street.  She knew that the next time the bell rang, it would be her first appointment of the day.

~ * ~

The day had flown by and the two appointments with the brides to be had gone amazingly well.  The appointments were always worrisome for Daisy because you never knew if you were going to be dealing with a bridezilla or if the family would be the problem.  It was astonishing as to the number of brides who would come in with confidence issues and instead of their families helping to build them up, they did nothing more than to play into their fears.  Daisy had often told her friends that her family would be like that and she would just elope.  No big wedding or fancy wedding dress; ironic since she owned the shop.  She found gowns on a regular basis that she could imagine wearing as she walked down the aisle – but she didn’t want to plan a wedding with her parents!

The first appointment for the day was for a young woman from out of town; she was petite and very country.  For a minute, Daisy was afraid the color scheme for the wedding was camouflage.  Her name was Heather and she tried on four or five gowns before finally settling on a trumpet style dress with lace straps and romantic neckline.   The dress was gorgeous yet understated and would be perfect for the style wedding they were having; they were getting married in an old barn.  This dress had a ribbon around the waist that made it look like it was specially made for country weddings – perfect! 

The second appointment for the day was for a slightly older woman, probably a few years older than Daisy.  She had an entirely different vision for her wedding.  She was going for a vintage bohemian look and when Daisy started looking for dresses for this showing she had the ideal dress in mind.  Luckily, the dress she had in mind fit perfectly with what the bride was looking for; a lace chiffon gown with an empire waist and long sleeves.  It was light and flowy and not heavy; it was also not bright white but instead an ecru or eggshell white. 

She closed up the shop and sent a quick text to Chris before walking out the door.

_Sorry I haven’t been able to chat much today been super busy with work, have to go to parent’s house for dinner – shoot me now!  Will call you later…miss you much_

She felt horrible for not talking to him that often during the day but she also knew that he had no premiere that night and he was going to enjoy a rare day off.  He said something about attempting to play golf, a game in which he needed serious help, and possibly trying to catch up on some rest. 

Her parents’ orchard was approximately twenty minutes outside of town, in the opposite direction of the big city.  The drive was long but peaceful but this time of year the flowering trees meant her allergies were going haywire.  She had just pulled up in front of the old farmhouse when her phone chimed and Chris finally responded to her text message.  Before she could read the first message,  the phone chimed a second time.

                _Enjoy your dinner, are you going to tell them about us?  What are you going to tell them about us?_

_I miss you and desperately need to hear your voice, call me when you get home…I don’t care about time difference_

It broke her heart to read that message and she didn’t want to send one back.  She thought that would only prolong the amount of time it would take for her to get through dinner and get back to her house.  She got out of the car and made her way up the steps and through the front door where she announced her arrival.

Martha just looked at Daisy, she didn’t say a word but the stare conveyed the message, “Sorry, I was in a hurry to get here and forgot to wash my face,” Daisy commented.

“Why in the world would you need to wash your face before you came to see us?”  Thomas Proctor asked as he walked in the back door and approached his daughter, “You look beautiful, darling.  I have missed seeing your face,” he said as he gave her a hug and a kiss.  Daisy adored her father and she enjoyed a special bond with him.  She was ‘daddy’s girl’ and he would let her do or get away with anything.

“Mom was in the store today and told me I had too much makeup on,” she said sheepishly, not wanting to cause any problems between her parents. 

Her mother ignored the conversation going on between Thomas and Daisy, “I have vegetables that need cutting for the salad, can you get on that Daisy?  Your father is grilling steaks and I am finishing up the bread and green beans.”

Daisy rolled her eyes and made her way to the kitchen island to begin salad preparations.  Dinner was ready about ten minutes after her arrival and they sat down to eat.  As her dad poured a glass of wine for each of them, he finally decided to ask about her trip.

“How was California?  Did you have a good time?”

“I did have a good time; the movie premiere was fantastic and the after party was so much fun.  I don’t regret going.”

“Well, I still think you should have taken someone with you.  I told your father that I was not comfortable with a single woman being in LA all by herself.”

“I can understand and respect that mom, but I was well taken care of by Marvel and there was nothing to worry about.”

“Did you meet any celebrities, baby?  How about the stars of that movie you went to see, were they nice to you?”  Her dad asked.   He was either oblivious to the tantrum her mother was trying to through or he was just so used it by now that he tuned her out.  They have been married for almost forty years, so Daisy was guessing he tuned her out.

“Well, it is funny you ask that.  I actually did meet the stars of the movie and I had an instant connection with one of them,” she figured her parents didn’t need all the gory details about how they got together.  “We hung out together at the after party and he actually went to DisneyLand with me the next day.  We are, um, well, um, we’re dating,” she finally spit it out.

Her parents each put their forks down and reached for their glass of wine.  It was as if they had studied synchronized shock reactions. 

 


	12. Shock and Awe

Martha and Thomas Proctor did not say a word, they just stared at their daughter and tried to process the phrases that she had just uttered.  They each took another drink of wine and when they realized their glasses were about empty, Thomas got up and went for another bottle out of the wine chest.

As he came back to the table with the bottle and the corkscrew, he cleared his throat and began to speak, “Daisy, I’m sorry but I think my hearing is going out, at my age, that sort of thing happens you know.  I swear I thought I heard you say you met one of the stars of the movie, spent time with him and are now dating him.  Is that what I heard your say?”

A grin spread across her face as she prepared to say the words again, “Yes, that is, in fact, what you heard me say.  I met Chris Evans because he sat next to me at the movie premiere.  Then I talked to him and had a few drinks with him at the party following the movie and we hit it off.  The next day he went to Disney with me and he brought his brother along, we had a great time and went to dinner.  And we have decided to start dating.”

“Chris Evans?  Which one is he?”  Her mom asked.

Before she could respond her dad was answering on her behalf, “Martha, that is the boy who plays Captain America.  The one you said was so handsome ripping that log in half in the Avengers movie.”

Martha sat quietly for a moment as if she was mentally cataloging the movie and the scene, suddenly it hit her, “OH!  Oh my goodness, Daisy you are dating that boy?  Oh, he is so handsome,” then it hit her as to what she had just said, “Wait, Daisy, you cannot date a boy like that.”

“Why can’t I date a boy like that?  He is a great guy and you can’t discount that because he’s an actor.”

“Well, you’re you, Daisy.  You aren’t Hollywood material, darling.  You don’t fit in with all those people, you just own a silly little bridal store in the middle of nowhere.  You are just not what he is looking for.  And besides, how can you date when you are here and he is not?  I mean he isn’t here, right?”

Daisy took a deep breath and tried not to let her mother’s words get to her.  All she could try to think of was not to engage in a battle of wits with her, it would do no good.  So, she decided to let the harsh things she said go and just move past it, “No, mom, he’s on an international press tour right now and he’s not in town.  We text and call each other several times a day, though.”

“Well, that is not dating.  You kids today have no concept of dating, Daisy.  I just don’t see how you expect to date a movie star?”  Her mother was finding every way possible to not be supportive or encouraging and she was not going to let it get to her.

“Yes, it is unconventional and a little unbelievable.  But Chris and I are happy with one another right now and this relationship, whatever it might be, is worth giving a shot.  So, we are trying it and keeping it under wraps from the press and from some of our friends.  I don’t expect you to completely understand because I don’t completely understand, but at least, let me give it a chance.”

Her dad stood up and walked over to her and pulled her out of her seat so he could give her a hug.  “Your mother and I are worried about you, that is all.  We will be as encouraging as we can be but we would like to meet him.  I want to know he is good to my girl.”

Daisy explained how she is keeping it from her friends; she asked that they not tell anyone.  Her mother scoffed at the notion and indicated no one would believe her anyway so there would be no use telling the story.  Everyone would think it was fantasy.  She tried to enjoy the rest of the evening but it was difficult.  Having her mom be hyper-critical of her made it hard for her to have someone to confide in.  She knew she had Melody to talk to but once in a while a girl needs her mom.

Daisy finally told her parents good night and began the drive back to her house.  She had hands-free calling in the car and figured what better way to waste twenty minutes than to talk to Chris.  She dialed his number and he answered almost immediately, although his voice was groggy.

“Hey beautiful, are you home?”  His deep voice echoed through her car and made her squirm in her seat.

“No, I just left my parents house, I’m in the car driving home.”

“How did your parents take your announcement?  Or did you not tell them?”

“I told them and my dad wants to meet you,” she was quiet for just a second to gather her thoughts, “Of course, my mom was not encouraging and says we are not dating since you are not here and are a movie star and all.  She did all she could to tear me down but that’s just what she does.  All I could think about was getting out of there and calling you.”

“Babe, I’m sorry.  It’s their job to worry though and I can understand their concerns.  I would probably freak out if my daughter went to California and came back with an actor as a souvenir.  I hope to meet them and put their fears to rest and I’m happy you called because I missed you and I needed to hear your voice.  I just want this tour to be over so I can come back and see you.”

“How many days are left?  I’ve lost count.”

“Four days until London’s premiere and then I can come home.  Can you wait four days?”

“No, can you?

“NO!  But I have no choice, it isn’t like I can get you on a plane and get you over here,” he stopped abruptly for a moment and then asked, “I can’t get you on a plane can I?”

“No, I can’t do that and besides, if I came to London I can guarantee you would not make it to the premiere of your movie.”

“Oh really?  Daisy that sounds as if you might have some impure thoughts going through your mind right now.”

“Tell me, Evans, are your thoughts pure when it comes to me?”

“Hell no and they haven’t been for more than a week.  How much longer until you are home?”

“I’m pulling into my driveway right now.  Why?  Do you want to talk dirty to me?”

Chris began to laugh at how innocent and sweet she sounded with her loaded question, “I would say yes but you need to sleep and I can’t risk you dozing off in the middle.”

“Do you honestly think if you were talking all sexy to me that I would fall asleep?  You are an idiot Evans,” she laughed as she fought with the lock on her front door.

“I’m your idiot so there!  Hey, is there any chance you can take off the weekend I get back?”

“That’s next weekend?  I’ve got to check the calendar, I might have a bridal fitting.”

“Don’t you have someone that works in your store with you?  Please??”

“I’ll check the calendar in the morning when I go in to do the books and let you know.  I do have someone who works for me occasionally and I can see if she is available.  What do you have in mind?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!”

Daisy and Chris said their goodnights and disconnected their call.  She was keyed up from talking to him and wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep.  She puttered around the house and decided that maybe snuggling in bed with a book might be the best thing to relax.  It worked until she drifted off to sleep and had dreams of being with Chris and what it would be like to see him again.

~ * ~

Daisy had checked her calendar and found she had two bridal appointments on Saturday, the weekend Chris wanted her to take off of work.  This would throw a serious monkey wrench in her plans if she couldn’t find someone to work for her.  She reached out to Kimberly, a friend of hers who worked in the store in the past, to see if she might be available.  To her surprise, she was available and loved the idea of coming in and working for a few days.  Kimberly explained that she had been so busy with her school, she was getting her Master’s Degree, that she needed a break and the timing was perfect because she had some time off from classes. 

Daisy told her that she was waiting to hear from Chris as to the schedule, she left out the particulars like his last name and what he does.  She was anticipating that she would need her on Friday and Saturday only; if she was going to be out of town on Thursday, the shop could be closed because it was always a slow day.    She told Kimberly about the fittings and explained that based on her conversations with the brides, she already had dresses pulled and ready for them.  None of this was new for Kimberly so it was just to make Daisy feel better knowing she covered it all.

Daisy was working on a new display when her cell phone began to ring on the counter in the back of the store.  She took off in an all-out sprint to get it.  Out of breath, she answered, “Hello!”

“Do I even want to know what you are doing?”  He teased as he heard her breathless greeting on the other end of the line.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, I had to run to answer the phone.  I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, isn’t it about red carpet time?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling.  We are doing the carpet and a small reception before the movie and then I am leaving; I’ve now watched this movie so many times I am tired of it.  I wanted to call you before I left to let you know that Amanda is going to call you with your flight information.  You are flying out tomorrow afternoon and I will meet up with you, don’t ignore her call.”

“You aren’t coming here?”

“No, I’m whisking you away to someplace fun.  Do you have any dresses in your shop that aren’t wedding dresses?”

“I have bridesmaid dresses, will that work?”

“Just bring a dress, cocktail length, nothing formal because we will have a nice dinner out and you will need it.  Oh, and pack enough clothes because you will leave on Sunday.  I’ll talk to you later, can’t wait to see you,” and with that, he hung up the phone.

Daisy was instantly excited and nervous.  She quickly called Kimberly, “I know I said I would close on Thursday but is there any chance you could work half a day for me?  I am supposed to fly out in the afternoon and I just found this out.  I haven’t had time to make the other arrangements I need…”

“Breathe,” Kimberly interrupted, “Yeah, it’s fine.  I have no plans and I can come in.  Would 11 am work?”

“Seriously?  Oh, I will owe you so much if you would do that.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.”  Daisy hung up the phone and immediately began to flutter around the shop to look for a dress that she might have on hand that would fit the criteria that Chris had specified.  She finally found a dress that fit what she needed in the section of non-traditional wedding dresses.  The dress was an A-line cocktail dress in pearl pink, not a color that Daisy would generally wear either.  The dress was knee-length chiffon and was sleeveless with a jeweled belt around the waist.  It was a beautiful dress and would not look like she was getting married if she wore it to go out on the town with Chris. 

Once the dress was picked out, she went searching for the perfect earrings and bracelet to wear with it.  The high neckline and the pleated top of the dress meant she did not need to wear a necklace.  Her only concern would be finding the right pair of shoes, but she wasn’t worried since the store carried a decent stock as well.  She was still trying to reconcile that she was going to wear pink when the phone call from Amanda came.

Amanda’s information was vague, be at the airport for a flight that would leave at 2:20 pm.  She would be on American Airlines and she would need to go to the kiosk and enter her name and birthdate and it would spit out her boarding pass.  Amanda would not tell her where she was going or any of the details about where she would be staying once she got there.  The only thing she would tell her was that Chris had made all of the arrangements and that everything was covered. 

 

 


	13. Taking Flight

Daisy had spent the entire morning being nervous.  She called her dad to tell him that she was jetting off to see Chris; she didn’t want to argue with her mom so she figured dad was a safe bet.  He was proud of her for putting her heart out there but understandably nervous for her as well.  He promised not to tell Martha about Daisy's trip until later that night; he just asked that once she arrived at whatever the destination was, that she text him and let him know she arrived safely.  This she could readily agree to.

She called Melody and asked her friend to help calm her down, but that didn’t work.  Melody helped speculate on where they could be going and what they could be doing.  They immediately figured out that they had to be going somewhere in the US because he didn’t ask her to bring her passport.  They weren’t going to Hawaii because the flight would be too long for a weekend trip and he didn’t tell her to bring shorts and swimwear.  They had settled on the fact she was most likely going to California and they would spend the weekend at his house.  Or, he could be taking her to Boston but that would be too soon to meet the rest of his family when they had barely seen one another.  No, she was sure she was going to California.

Her bags were in the car and she was as prepared as she could be.  She was waiting on Kimberly to arrive at the shop so she could go over a few things and then she would head to the city and the airport.  Right at eleven, Kimberly walked into the store and Daisy did a quick rundown of everything she would need.  She gave her every emergency contact and told her to call if there were any problems.  Kimberly assured her that everything would be okay and ushered her out the door and to her car.

The hour drive to the city was the longest drive of her life.  She felt as if she hit every red light before she got to the highway and then hit every traffic jam you could imagine.  The truth was, she was making excellent time, but the perception was that time was moving slow and she would never get there.

Once she arrived at the airport, she made her way to the American terminal and found a kiosk to check in and print her boarding pass.  She only had a carry on bag so luckily she didn’t have to stand it line and worry about checked baggage.  As she pulled up her information on the screen, she noticed that she was leaving from gate 3A and the flight destination was Las Vegas.  She was not expecting that and she was not expecting that she would be seated in first class.

Her boarding pass printed, she made her way to security and just kept running through her head how Vegas was not even a consideration when she and Melody thought of travel destinations.  She quickly passed through security and was walking down the corridor toward the gate when she stopped dead in her tracks.  There was Chris and he was staring straight at her; to be fair, it was an ad in a perfume store window facing in her direction but still.

She got to the gate and found that she had thirty minutes to kill before her flight.  She checked her phone for any messages but didn’t have any.  She pulled her book out of her bag but wasn’t truly interested in reading it.  No, instead her mind just continued to race and tried to process the fact that she was about to see Chris again and she was going with him to Vegas.  In the back of her mind, she knew this could spell trouble.

When they called the flight to start boarding, she almost forgot to get up with the first call.  She had never sat in first class before so she wasn’t used to being able to have early boarding.  She made her way down the jetway and the flight attendant directed her toward her seat, she was sitting on the aisle in the last row of the section.  The window seat was currently unoccupied but she could tell that someone had been there for the first leg of the flight.  The attendant advised that the passenger had to make a call so they allowed him to exit the plane.

Daisy thought this was odd because she didn’t see anyone step out of the jetway before boarding started.  But then again, she had been trying to read her book so maybe she missed it.  She placed her bag in the overhead compartment and tried to get settled in her seat.  She knew not to get too comfortable since she would have to move when her row companion came back.

The passengers seemed to have all been loaded and she was beginning to worry that something was odd about the fact that the seat next to her was still empty.  She was looking out of the window and contemplating this when she heard his voice, “Excuse me, but I need to get to my seat.”

Her head turned immediately and a smile that would have rivaled the lights of Vegas lit up the plane.  She jumped from her seat, through her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips without hesitation or reservation.  She quickly pulled back and looked around, noticing that the flight attendants and the passengers around them were watching.  She began to blush, and took her removed her hands from around his neck and said sheepishly, “Sorry.”

He was smiling as he put his hands on her hips and quickly pulled her into him.  He gently kissed her lips and swept his tongue across hers with a silent request for entry that she gladly provided.  The two of them were lost in the moment and forgot that they were in the aisle of an airplane.  Chris released the kiss and whispered, “I missed you beautiful but I think we need to take our seats.”

She couldn’t respond with words but moved so that Chris could take his seat next to her.  Once they were buckled in, Chris took Daisy’s hand and laced their fingers together.  He leaned towards her and kissed her temple and Daisy turned to look at him.  “I’m surprised you wanted to fly me off somewhere since you have been jet setting the last two weeks.”

“I wanted to take you someplace where we could have some fun and we weren’t bound by the strings of our day to day lives.  If we stayed at your place or mine, we would have to worry about friends and family.  If we go to Vegas, we have none of that; we can do what we want and cut loose.”

“And being a celebrity isn’t an issue?”

“Nope, there are enough places for us to go and do things where we will blend right in and no one will notice.”

Daisy lifted the armrest between the two of them and loosened the seat belt to give her the motion to move and snuggle into Chris’s side.  Their calls and discussions over the last two weeks had brought them close together in every way except physically.  She knew this would change this weekend and wanted it to start on the plane.  She wasn’t interested in having sex on the plane; she just wanted to be close to him.  To inhale his scent and feel his body close to her.  As she began to snuggle in, he put his arm around her and pulled her close.  She felt like he had wanted this as well.

They engaged in quiet conversation during the flight; primarily it was an opportunity for Chris to fill her in on the details of the press tour and all of the things they never had a chance to talk about during their calls and text messages.  What they found was that they were comfortable with one another.  Where Daisy had been nervous and uncomfortable the first night in Los Angeles, all of that was gone now and they had found a rhythm and a comfort with one another that defied explanation.

As the plane made the final approach to the Las Vegas airport, Daisy sat up and straightened her clothes and tried to fix her hair from where she had been flattened against Chris’s shoulder.  He smiled as he watched her and wanted to pinch himself to make sure she was real and was in front of him.  He had spent the night before in Boston with his mom and had told her all about Daisy.  Lisa Evans was not surprised by her son’s admission; Scott had already filled her in but she didn’t let Chris know that.  And just as Scott had predicted, Lisa could tell that Chris was, in fact, crazy about this girl.

The plane was at the gate and they were ready to disembark, Chris and Daisy were one of the first to exit and were provided an ‘escape’ route so they could avoid the crowds.  Amanda had come through and provided a car service that would drive them to Aria for their stay; she had booked them a Sky Suite just like he had asked.  He figured if he was going to go take her to Vegas he was going to spoil her just a little.

She stared out the window of the car and seemed mesmerized by the lights and the activity on the strip, “Have you never been to Vegas before?”  He asked as he pulled leaned over and kissed her neck just under her ear.  “I can have the driver go around for a bit if you want to look around,” he said as he planted another kiss on the opposite side of her neck.  She melted into him.

“No, let’s go to the room,” she managed to say, albeit a little breathlessly.

The driver pulled up in front of the hotel and came around to open the door for Daisy to step out.  That was still an odd notion to her, she was so used to just getting out of the car on her own and the idea of having someone else do it on her behalf was not normal.

Chris entered the Tower Lounge where he was met by his personal concierge, Derrick.  He ushered Chris and Daisy into a private lounge where he would personally handle the check in process.  Chris managed the registration and, as was customary, even though he was paying with his credit card, he was booked under an alias so that the hotel staff could not obtain any of his information.

Derrick provided Chris with a business card with his contact details and let him know that he should give him a call if he required any assistance during his stay.  Part of his hotel arrangements included limo service and he could help arrange the car whenever they needed it.  He provided the key cards and receipts and thanked Chris and Daisy for choosing to stay at the hotel.  Daisy couldn’t speak, she was in awe of the level of service afforded to you when you have means.  It turned her stomach a little to be taking advantage of that sort of thing but had to admit that it was pretty amazing and she should enjoy it while it lasted.

As they entered the elevator, Daisy’s mind went to all the things she would love to do to him in that small space.  But realizing this is an upscale hotel, there would be cameras and she didn’t want her little escapade to be on film.  Instead, she laced her fingers with his and rested her head on his shoulder.  She knew that his lack of affection and attention at the moment were due to them being in a public place and cameras being a threat.

As the elevator opened, Daisy realized the floor didn’t look like the usual hotel floor setup  For that matter, Chris had to access a particular keypad to push the button for their floor.  Why was this just dawning on her now?  Chris could tell that she was looking around and was confused.

“We’re in a penthouse suite; little more private than a regular room.  That is why it looks different.”

She nodded as if she actually understood what he meant, but when he opened the door to the room, it suddenly became clear.  Once inside she walked across the living space to the large picture window that looked out over the Vegas strip.  The view was incredible and the lights and activity were like nothing she had ever seen before.  Chris closed the door behind him and just watched her for a moment; her eyes wide with amazement, she reminded him of a kid at Christmas.

She could see his reflection in the window as he walked toward her and her body became electric.  He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.  “Are you okay with my decision to bring you to Vegas?”

She nodded slowly, “I just wanted to be with you.”  She turned herself in his arms and looked into his brilliant blue eyes and then raised her hands to cup his face and feel his beard.  “You know, I’ve been dreaming of this beard for the last two weeks.  I don’t think I appreciated it enough when we met but I certainly do now.”  She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly and he pulled her in tighter.  She fit to him perfectly.


	14. First Night in Vegas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 18+ and NSFW - this is the first time I have ever written sexual situations - if you are offended by such actions please skip this chapter.

The Penthouse Suite offered a breathtaking view of Vegas and had more room than two people needed.  Daisy realized that the reason he got the room was not because they needed all of that space, but because it offered privacy and that is what was most important.  Chris took her hand and led her down the hallway, through the kitchen and dining area, to the bedroom.

As he stood in front of her, his hands on her waist and looking into her eyes, she said without thinking, “You left our bags in the other room.”

Chris put his finger to her lips, “Shhh…we aren’t going to need the bags tonight.”  Daisy raised her eyebrows as if the realization hit her as to what he meant.  “I thought maybe we could pick up where we left off in your hotel room a few weeks ago.”  He gave her soft kiss on the lips and then began to trail kisses along her chin towards her ear.

Daisy was losing her resolve, her body was on fire from his touch and he was keeping them light which only heightened the sensations.  She rolled her neck so that he could have better access and he took full advantage, kissing and nipping down her neck.  The sensation was erotic and they were both still fully clothed.

Chris decided to take things a step further and moved his hand to start unbuttoning the blue gingham shirt she was wearing.  He decided to go slow with the buttons to provide an opportunity for her to stop if that is what she wanted.  When she reached around to help unbutton them, he knew that stopping wasn’t on her mind.  When the buttons were undone, he slowly opened the shirt and moved to ease if off of her shoulders and then softly kissed the top of each shoulder; she shuddered when his lips touched her.

She moved to begin unbuttoning his shirt but he stepped back, she was confused at first and thought he wanted her to stop but in one quick motion, he pulled it over his head and tossed it to the side.  He wasn’t willing to go slow.  Before he touched her again, he looked into her eyes and asked a simple question, “Are you alright?”

Her heart was racing and she was finding it hard to breathe but she could only answer one way, “Yes,” and it came out in a sultry tone that surprised her.

Chris walked her to the bed and motioned for her to lie down, he wanted her to be comfortable.  She was still wearing her white jeans and wedge heels.  As she got comfortable on the bed, he stood at her feet, gently raising one leg and removing her shoe and then doing the same to the other leg.  He then reached forward and unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, getting her assistance as she raised her hips off of the bed and he lowered them and removed them.  Leaving Daisy exposed in her lace bra and matching panties.  He was drinking her in, she was beautiful and he had to admit that he was nervous.

He had friends with benefits, sexual encounters were never an issue for him, but taking this step with a girl that he possibly had real feelings for.  Well, that was a different story.  He was exposing himself in a different way and it wasn’t comfortable for him.  He knew if he didn’t move in the next minute or so that Daisy would think something was wrong and he could ruin the moment.

Too late, Daisy sat up and took his hands, “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, I was just admiring you, that’s all.  Thinking about how we got to this place and how I almost ruined it in your hotel room.”

Daisy scooted toward the edge of the bed but never broke eye contact with Chris. “Why are you so sure you would have ruined it in my hotel room?”

“Because that’s what I do,” he admitted honestly, “I find a way to mess up the relationships I want the most.”

“Do you want me, Chris?”  She asked seductively.

“You know I do, Daisy.  The question is, do you want me?”

“You know, we are a lot alike, you and me.  I overanalyze and worry about everything in a relationship, I have a tendency to sabotage the one I want and sail smoothly through the one I could care less about.”

“Which one am I?”

“The one I want, Chris.  I don’t want to mess this up any more than you do but I guess we need to move forward before we worry about screwing it up.”

“Are you sure about this?  I mean it Daisy, we can’t go back.”

“Let me show you that I’m ready,” she said as she released his hands and reached for the button on his jeans.  As she unbuttoned and unzipped them, she began to trail kisses down his stomach.  She heard him let out a soft moan as she began to slide his jeans down and he did not resist when she took the boxers off with them.  He stepped out of them and kicked them to the side; he was now completely naked in front of her.

It was now her turn to admire him, he was completely naked and absolutely glorious.  She traced his clavicle tattoo with her fingers and then traced down his body; paying particular attention to his abs and his Adonis belt.  This man was gorgeous and she was still having a hard time believing he was in front of her and she was touching him.

“Do you like what you see?”  He asked with a sly grin.

She didn’t answer him, but she was sure that the look in eyes let him know that she definitely liked what she saw.  His cock was hard and begging for attention; Daisy had ignored it for too long already.  She took him in her hand and began to stroke him slowly; Chris put his head back and closed his eyes.  Her grip was firm but not too tight and she was definitely giving him what he wanted at the moment.  She began to increase her stroking rhythm and without giving him a warning, took him in her mouth.  His reaction was immediate, “Oh fuck, Daisy, that feels good.”

She would rotate between licking him like a lollipop and taking him into her mouth completely.  She was driving him insane and when she began massaging his balls at the same time, she could tell he was barely hanging on.  He was moaning and panting and she was fairly certain he was about to go over the edge when he stepped back and pulled out of her mouth; the pop was audible.

“Get up on the bed,” he growled, the desire was thick in his voice.  She did what he asked because she knew what was coming next.

He reached forward and pulled her panties off and then kneeled on the bed, spreading her legs apart.  He could see how wet she was and if he weren't aching to be inside her so bad, he would take the time to taste her and savor that.  He positioned himself over her and kissed her, “Are you sure about this?” She nodded her head and as he captured her lips again, he pushed himself inside.

Each of them let out a gasp of pleasure and pain.  Chris didn’t move, he wanted to make sure she was okay before he went any further.  She nodded to his unasked question and he started to move in a slow and steady rhythm.  Daisy put her hands on his biceps to brace herself and Chris could not get enough of her kisses.  The slow rhythm quickly moved to a frenzied pace and in a matter of moments Daisy went flying over the edge and when her orgasm hit and her walls spasmed, it sent Chris over the edge right after her.  She didn’t let him stop or pull out, she kept milking him and he began to cry out and she did the unthinkable, she made him cum again.

He pulled out and rolled over, Daisy was quite happy with herself and moved to play with him.  He grabbed her hand, “No, baby, oh God, don’t.   I can’t….”

Daisy cuddled up next to him and put her head on his chest and wrapped her leg around his.  She began to softly play with the hair on his chest and moved to kiss him.  He was beautiful, even when he was sweaty and breathing heavily.  “Are you okay, Chris?”  She asked; she was a little worried since he had not said anything.

“Where in the hell did you learn to do that?”  He asked and then quickly said, “Nevermind I don’t want to know the answer.  My God, you’re beautiful.”

Daisy decided to be even more bold.  She moved to straddled him, sitting just above his waist and being careful not to touch his cock in case he was still too sensitive.  She placed her hands on the bed on either side of his head and lowered herself to kiss him.  Her bare breasts brushing against his chest, her nipples immediately hardening again and letting him know she was more than turned on.

Chris’s eyes flew open as they broke from their kiss. “Shit, please tell me..” Chris started, his mind racing to what they had just done and what he that had forgotten.

“Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry.  If I were concerned, I would have stopped you,” she offered quietly.  She tried to calm her heart rate and catch her breath and then decided to get up and go to the bathroom.  As tired as he was, Chris sat up to watch her body move and he smiled with the satisfaction of knowing that she was his.

He decided that maybe what would be best would be a hot shower and then they could snuggle under the sheets and get some rest.  It was when he got off the bed that Chris realized the curtains were open; hopefully, no one with a telephoto lens or a telescope was focused in on their room.  If they had been, they had a hell of a show.

He closed the curtains and walked into the bathroom just as she was preparing to walk out.  She just stared at him walking toward her and could not help but smile.  “What are you smiling at,” he asked.

“Just the fact that if you and I had done that in LA a few weeks ago, I would have put myself in your suitcase and gone on the press tour with you.”

He wrapped himself around her and kissed the top of her head, “I think if we had done that in LA a few weeks ago, it wouldn’t have meant as much.  How about we take a hot shower and then go to bed?  I’m exhausted but we are both a little sweaty and sticky.  Whatcha say?”

She nodded and reached for the towels and washcloths while Chris turned on the shower and got the water warmed up.  They stepped into the shower and immediately their hands began to roam and Daisy’s immediately went to his cock.  With her touch, it did not take long for Chris to get hard and ready.  She kissed him and backed him against the shower wall, as she broke the kiss, he started to speak.

“How in the hell did you go from wallflower who was shy to a sex kitten?”

“I’m shy in situations when I don’t know anyone; I never claimed to be shy once I knew you.  And as far as being a sex kitten, meow.”

Chris could not help but laugh, he definitely did not expect that.  As he went in to kiss her again, she continued stroking him only this time with a little more intensity, “Fuck, you turn me on,” he growled.

“I can tell, baby; I have a new toy and you don’t seem to mind if I want to play,” she purred.  He couldn’t talk, her hands were magical and he was lost in the sensation.  “Tell me what you want, Chris.”

“Suck…please…fuck put me in your mouth.”

“As you wish,” she said as she slid down his body and kneeled in front of him.  Once again she took him in her mouth, this time just the tip to start.  She then began to slowly lick from base to tip while massaging his balls at the same time.  She wanted to torture him but in a good way and from his breathing and his moans, she was succeeding.

She decided to give in when she could tell he was struggling and took him into her mouth, this time, he wanted control and he put his hand on her head and held her in place.  He controlled the pace and tried to see how far he could go without causing her to gag, he realized she could take him completely and that turned him on even more.  His rhythm picked up and finally, he pulled out and grunted loudly as he came on her chest.

Daisy stood up and turned to face the spray of water to clean herself off when Chris spun her around and found her lips.  The kiss was demanding and passionate and ignited the fire within her.  She was not the kind of girl who did these sorts of things but Chris was the kind of man who brought it out in her.  She was not complaining, she liked it and that is what scared her the most.

“You know, I feel kinda bad that you’ve taken care of me more than I’ve taken care of you; I need to return the favor.”

Daisy smiled and put her arms around Chris and put her head on his chest, “No, I’m good, I promise.  Although, I can tell you the water is starting to get cold.”

Chris stepped away from her and turned off the water and then opened the shower door to get the towel.  He took his time to begin drying her off.  It was erotic and she loved how he was so gentle with her and after each area was dry, he would place a soft kiss to indicate he was done.  He quickly toweled off once she was dry and led her back into the bedroom.  She noticed he had closed the curtains and pulled the covers back on the bed.  She crawled into the bed and he followed, positioning himself behind her.  He draped his arm across her body and their legs became entwined.  He kissed her neck and shoulders and inhaled the soft scent of the lavender soap she had used in the shower.

“I could get used to this you know,” she whispered softly, “Don’t spoil me too much, Chris, it will be too painful to go back home.”

“Who says you have to go back home?” He asked hesitantly.

“You know I have to; it isn’t like this weekend is forever.  Besides, do you really think that it can work between a small town girl and a big city, big time movie star?”

“Yeah, I do believe that it can work and you need to live in the now, sweetie.  Quit looking ahead to tomorrow and think about right now.  This is what is important…you and me, together, in this big bed and we are happy.   I know I’m happy, are you happy?”

“Extremely,” she responded. Then it hit her, “Crap, I promised my dad I would text him when we got here and I forgot.  Where is my phone?”

Chris reached over to the nightstand and handed it to her.  She quickly sent a text and apologized for it being late and explained they lost track of time.  She figured it would not go over well to tell him what had actually happened.

She handed the phone back to Chris, who put it back on the nightstand and then snuggled back with her.  Within minutes, both of them had drifted off to sleep.

 


	15. Afterglow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual Situations - NSFW - 18+  
> Please skip if adult content offends you

The first thing that came into Daisy’s mind as her eyes began to open was the fact that she was naked in an incredibly soft and warm bed.  It took an extra beat of her heart to remember she was not at home and that it meant she would have a naked gorgeous man in the bed next to her.  But when she rolled over she found the bed to be empty and she was alone.  She listened carefully to see if he might be in the bathroom, but all she heard was silence.  Suddenly the bed became cold and she had fear and doubt rushing into her mind.  While she thought things were great last night, did she just remember things differently?   She needed to get out of her own head. 

The room was dark and she realized the heavy curtains were still closed.  With no light to seep in, she had no clue as to what time it might be; she sat up and pulled the sheet around her and leaned over to look at the bedside clock that was Chris’s side of the bed – it was 8:30 am.  She had slept much later than she had anticipated but she had to imagine part of that was because of the stress leading up to seeing Chris and then the workout once they got into their hotel room.

She began to replay last night’s events and the feel of his body against her, the way he felt when he moved inside her, and the way he felt when he was in her hands.  She was getting worked up and she could feel herself getting wet and her clit beginning to throb.  One night with this man and she was in deep.  Who was she kidding?  She was in deep the moment he bumped her arm in the movie theater; she was forever ruined for any other man because of his touch.

She reached over and grabbed his pillow and pulled it to her chest, inhaling his scent.  This was not helping her worked up state and all she could think about was having him back in bed with her.  Common sense told her that she should get out of bed and see if he was in the other room, but she was scared of finding herself utterly alone in the hotel room and that was not something she was prepared for.   It wasn’t that she was afraid he left her in Vegas all alone, it was the idea she was in the hotel room alone.  He was probably in the fitness center and she was just stupid. 

It was then that she noticed there was a white bathrobe across the foot of the bed.  That wasn’t there last night, or at least, she didn’t remember it being there. Between the smell of him on the sheets and pillow and the aching between her legs, she needed to get out of the bed and quit thinking about him. She put the robe on and shuffled to the bathroom.  The enormity of the space took her by surprise; last night she was in such a hurry to get Chris in the shower she didn’t have time to appreciate it.  While she loved the large shower, the free-standing infinity bathtub was currently grabbing her attention.  She did take care to see that it was big enough for two people to fit comfortably and thought she might make that suggestion to Chris a little later. 

As she glanced around the bathroom, she noticed that Chris had brought their bags in from the entryway.  Her clothes were hanging up as were his and his grooming items were on the counter next to hers; he had obviously unpacked.  She quickly shed the bathrobe and jumped in the shower and the memories of what had happened there the night before came flooding back.  When she began thinking about that, her ache intensified and her hand immediately went between her legs to try and take care of it.  She was not ashamed of doing this, after all, what else is a single woman to do when the urge hits.  The problem was the man she was fantasizing over; she had access to him but had no idea where he was right now and she needed a release.  She braced herself against the shower wall and started slowly, thinking of Chris and how she wished his head was between her thighs with his tongue and fingers doing the pleasuring versus her own.  As she thought of what he could do, the pace of her breathing and movement of her fingers increased as she brought herself to climax; she couldn’t hold back and as she came she screamed Chris’s name.   She came hard and her head was spinning; she was light headed and didn’t think she could continue standing, so she slid down to sit on the shower floor. 

It took a few moments for her to get herself back to balance, she washed up and got out of the shower.  Drying off quickly, getting dressed and making herself look presentable; she didn’t know when she would see Chris but didn’t want to disappoint him when she did.  She was now thankful he had not seen her when she first woke up because going to bed with wet hair last night had not done her any favors in the beauty department.  She started to worry that maybe that is why he left, he was scared of the monster he woke up with!  

As she walked out of the bathroom, she noticed Chris was sitting on the side of the bed.  He was dressed and was leaning forward on his knees and staring at the carpet.  But he sensed her standing there because he sat up and looked at her and smiled, “Morning beautiful, did I hear you call my name?”  The smile turned into an impish grin and she could see the hint of mischief in his eyes.

She walked over and stood between his legs, reaching down to hold his face so she could give him a kiss that would make her want to take off all the clothes she just put on.  “I woke up in this big bed all by myself and I started thinking about last night and how it felt to be with you.  The pillow and the sheets smelled like you and I began to get wet and I had a need and I was alone.  So, I had to take care of myself,” she said, sticking her lip out as if she were pouting.

His eyes clouded with desire and he looked over her body, “So you were thinking of me when you took care of yourself?”

She leaned forward and kissed him and then seductively whispered in his ear, “I thought of your head between my thighs and your tongue on me; starting off by licking me slowly and then increasing your pace.  Finger fucking me while you lick me, tell me, Chris, do you think about doing that?”

He swallowed hard and was unable to speak.  Daisy moved to straddle his lap, “Oh, I think someone is thinking about that right now.”  She began to slowly move back and forth on his lap, rubbing against the bulge in his pants.  She wanted to work him up even more; she wanted the wild sex.  The “fuck you into tomorrow” sex because it was an act and not emotion.

She had fallen for this man and while they had the conversation last night about not wanting to screw things up.  Her fear was if the sex was sweet and they took their time, in other words, made love, then the relationship was even more real and it would scare one, or both, of them into sabotaging it.

She reached down and began to unbutton his jeans, “Do you want to play, Chris?”

“Fuck yes,” he growled as he stood up and set Daisy down, “Get undressed, you look beautiful by the way but I want your clothes off now.”

He didn’t have to ask twice, Daisy stripped off her clothes and took a few steps toward Chris, who had just finished shedding his jeans.  She pulled his shirt over his head and then pushed him back on the bed; she wanted to be on top, she wasn’t worried about being in control, but just wanted to ride.  She crawled on the bed along side of him and then swung her leg over and straddled him, keeping her body above his.  She would rock her body and lightly graze her wet, hot mound over his rock hard cock and every time he would suck in a breath; it was sweet, agonizing torture. 

He couldn’t take it and he put his hands on her hips to stop her movement, “Are you going to tease me or are you going to fuck me?”

She gave him a wicked grin and sat up, moving into position.  She looked into his eyes, maintaining eye contact as she slid herself down on him.  She let out a gasp as he filled her and then she began to move her hips, pleasuring herself with him inside.  He was in heaven and she was lost in the moment.  Daisy leaned forward placing her hands on Chris’ chest and began to increase her rocking pace.  Chris was holding her hips and trying to help control the speed when he decided he wanted to take over.  In one motion he flipped her over and then climbed off the bed.  He pulled her legs toward him so her ass was on the edge of the bed, pushing her legs apart he plunged into her and set his own pace.  They were both vocal and it was evident that they were enjoying it.

He finally growled at her, “Are you gonna cum for me, baby?”

She was breathing heavy but she was able to get out a breathless, “Yes, I’m almost there…make me cum, Chris.”

With another thrust, her walls began to spasm and her orgasm overtook her, she let go with, “Oh my God, Chris,” and that was all he needed to let go.  He pulled out and collapsed on the bed next to her pulling her close for a kiss.  “I have to say you are going to be the death of me, Daisy.”

She held on to him tight and didn’t respond, she was trying not to let her fear overtake her.  While she was hoping that the sex would have been quick and just an act – it wasn’t.  She made and kept eye contact with him and damn she could swear she saw respect, caring, and love in his eyes.  He was going to be the death of her because there was no way she would survive this weekend and then be able to back home alone.

“Chris, where were you this morning, I was wondering where you went.”

“I woke up and you were sleeping so beautifully that I didn’t want to wake you.  My body clock is jacked because of traveling.  I took a shower, you didn’t move.  I gave you a kiss, you didn’t move,” he said laughing, “You were out like a light.  So, I got dressed and went into the living room to read a few scripts and answer some emails.  I didn’t know you were up until I heard the shower running.”

“Ah, that makes sense.  Does it scare you that I think it is weird waking up without you in bed with me?”

“No, do you want it to?  I mean does it scare you to say it?”

“Maybe, a little,” she reluctantly admitted, “I didn’t expect to fall so hard, so fast.  We’re going to mess this up aren’t we?”

“No, we aren’t so quit thinking that way,” Chris moved so that he was leaning over Daisy and looking into her eyes.  He bent his head and gave her a deep and loving kiss.  As he broke away, he gently licked his lips, “Can we just agree that we are both scared but we need to quit looking over our shoulder to find something wrong?”

She nodded her head, knowing that he was right and she needed to stop thinking it would fall apart.  She pulled him down for another kiss, not being able to get enough of his soft lips.  She breathlessly asked, “Can we please just stay here all day?  I don’t want to get out of this bed and I definitely don’t want you to put on any clothes.”

He had to laugh, it sounded so funny coming from her, his shy little wallflower had definitely found her voice.  “Well, I had thought about taking you around town to sightsee but if you want to stay in bed, then that’s what we’ll do.  But can we, at least, lay on the bed the right way?  I’d like to use the pillows.”

She nodded in agreement and rearranged themselves on the bed.  She snuggled into his side, her head on his chest and her fingers playing with the tufts of hair on his chest.  Their sticky and sweaty arms and legs entwined and it didn’t matter because they were comfortable; so comfortable they drifted off to sleep.

 


	16. We Gotta Go Out

Daisy was the first to wake up, she was no longer entangled with Chris so she could easily move to prop herself up to watch him sleep.  The rise and fall of his beautiful chest and the fluttering of those gorgeous eyelashes.  This time, the roles were reversed and she didn’t want to wake him up.  But she had every intention of coming back to bed.  She eased herself out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom.  As she was walking back into the bedroom, she noticed he had rolled over and was watching her.

“What are you looking at?” She asked playfully as she walked toward the bed.

“My beautiful girlfriend; you know that is the first time I have said that since this trip started,” he smiled and reached out his hand to her.  She took it willingly and he pulled her into the bed and into his arms.  He snuggled into her neck, “Tell me, Daisy, are you happy?”

She let out a giggle,“I’m in bed with a superhero, why wouldn’t I be?”

Chris began to tickle her and learned very quickly that Daisy is extremely ticklish.  She immediately began begging for mercy and dissolved into a fit of laughter.  “Stop, you’re going to make me pee!” 

“Well, we can’t have that can we?” He asked as he let up but kept ahold of her, “Seriously, Daisy, are you happy?  We’ve been doing this relationship thing a little backward I know, but talk to me and tell me if you are happy.”

She rolled around so she was looking at him and she placed her hand on his face, rubbing her hand along his beard.  “You know the first time I saw you in the movies without the beard I thought you were so handsome.  Actually, I think I told my friend Melody you were breathtaking,” she smiled and let out a wry laugh, “I saw you with a beard and told her I hated it and that you were so much more attractive without it.  Then the more I looked at you and watched you and took you away from your characters and saw Chris, I realized that I had it all wrong and you were more beautiful with it because you were true to yourself.”

“You’re dodging my question.”

“No, I’m answering you but I am going the long way to get there.  I think when I met you in LA, part of me was meeting Cap and not Chris.  I think by the end of the night, even though I was drunk, I had come to realize I truly met Chris but didn’t let myself really see you until I went back home and we began talking and texting one another.  I think Chris is a good-looking man and he makes me extremely happy, he is goofy and silly and a little over the top sometimes.  But he is charming, sweet and considerate and I am lucky to have him.”

He leaned over and captured her soft lips, the passion that passed between the two of them filled the room, “Thank you, really, you have no idea how much that meant to me.”

“Well, I think I have an idea because that was probably the best kiss ever and we’ve had quite a few of those in the last twenty-four hours.  So, let me turn it around, are you happy?”

“Deliriously, I don’t feel like I have to pretend when I’m with you, Daisy.  I can be myself, that scares me and I think we have established that it scares you, too.  But, I like it, I like that I can be goofy and over the top and you aren’t judging me.  You aren’t judging me, right?”  She shook her head and smiled, it touched his soul. “  Great, now that we have established our happiness level and have had enough physical exercise to work up an appetite, can we go eat?  I’m starving?”

“Oh thank God, I thought you’d never ask.  Do you want to go out though or can we just order in?”

“I think we should get dressed and go out for a little bit; leave the room and see some of Vegas since you’ve never been here before.”

Daisy bit her lip, she had to think about it.  She wanted to stay in, it was safe and they didn’t have to worry about crowds but if she stayed with him in the room, then it would make it even worse when it was time to go home.  “Ok, maybe we could take a bath together before we go out?  That tub looks divine and we do need to get cleaned up.”

~ * ~

The two of them rode down the elevator in virtual silence; not that anything was wrong, in fact, everything was right.  The bath turned into a little more than a bath and it took a bit longer to get ready than either one had anticipated.  They were afraid to touch one another for the spark might once again ignite.

The limo provided by the hotel drove them to a restaurant off the strip.  It was well known to locals but not the tourists and since it wasn’t frequented by celebrities, they could eat virtually unnoticed.  They had a small table near the back and sat with their backs to the door so that they could have a tiny amount of privacy.

“How do you even know about this place?”  She asked while they were waiting for their food.

“I’ve been to Vegas a time or two, and you learn where to go to avoid the tourist crowd.  You need to know that as we are out, there is a chance we will be seen together and photographed.  You need to be prepared.”

“Can’t we just do what I did at Disney?  I don’t walk in with you or out with you?  Won’t that work?”

“Are you planning on not touching, talking, or kissing me at all when we are out?”

She thought about this for a minute, “Wait, that won’t work.”

With his index finger, he tapped her on her nose, “Now you understand.”

“Are you ready to go public?  I mean, do you want to let people know about me?”

Chris considered his words carefully before he answered, “I don’t want people to know about you but it isn’t because I’m ashamed of you – it's because I want you to have your life without people following you or trying to invade your privacy.  I’m okay with people knowing I’ve got a girlfriend but I keep my private life private for your sake, not mine.”

Once they finished eating, the two ventured over to the High Roller Ferris Wheel for a ride.  Chris had called ahead and made plans to have a cabin to themselves.  Daisy had let him know she was not a fan of this idea, she hated Ferris Wheels and more importantly, she was scared of heights.  He gently chided her as to how she could be afraid when she looked out of their hotel room window without reservation.  She explained that it was different because this thing was moving and the hotel room wasn’t.

When they arrived, they were put in their cabin and as the wheel began to move, he kept her seated on the bench and held her to his side so that she could feel safe. Finally, he walked her to the window so she could see out; keeping her in front of him with his arms wrapped tightly around her.  He kept his chin on her shoulder and pointed out landmarks and told her stories so she could keep her mind busy and not allow it to think about the fact that they were moving and so far up in the air.

When the ride was over and they exited the cabin, Chris took her hand and led her into the casino.  He thought maybe they could try their luck at a few games.  This would allow them to keep their hands busy with something other than each other; Chris was getting lucky at the craps table and was up several thousand dollars.  Evidently Daisy was his good luck charm, he kept her by his side with his arm around her and never letting her go, not even to throw the dice.  After thirty minutes he was up ten thousand and decided to not push his luck any further, good luck charm or not. 

As they left to go cash out his chips, Chris pulled Daisy over to one of the many bars on the casino floor and ordered drinks.  “Figured we should start celebrating,” he said as he flagged down the bartender. 

After several drinks the two of the headed over to cash out the chips and head toward their next destination.  They walked through the Forum Shops, Daisy had never been shopping in such high-end stores.  She preferred to window shop since she knew she couldn’t afford anything in these stores but her heart stopped when they walked past the window for Christian Louboutin.  There was a stunning pair of pink ballerina leather peep toe heels with a black bow on the toe that would look beautiful with the dress she brought from home.  She stood in front of the window staring at the shoes reminiscent of how a child would stare at a candy in a store.  Chris smiled as he watched her, captivated by her innocence.

He walked up behind her and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Would you like to go try them on?”

She shook her head vehemently, “No, can’t afford them but they are so pretty.”

“How do you know you can’t afford them if you don’t go in and ask to look at them?”

She turned around and looked at him as if she could not understand how he could be so dense, “Christopher, do you know what store this is?  These are Louboutin’s and they aren’t going to be any less than $500 a pair and I’m sure that is still too low.  I can’t afford that for shoes!  Shoes that I may only wear once at that, I could pay my house payment for what I would pay for those shoes.”

“What if I bought them for you?”  He asked innocently, “I mean, I would do that for you if you really wanted them.  You deserve beautiful things and if you want a pair of Louboutin shoes, well you can have a pair,” he announced proudly.

“Um, no.  But thank you for offering.  No way that is too much…way too much.”

Chris was stunned at her refusal to let him buy her something nice.  He wanted to be able to shower her with gifts; didn’t most girlfriends want their boyfriends to make romantic gestures like that?  Shit, no wonder he was still single.  He was never going to figure this out.  He would find a way, though, he would definitely find a way.

She took his hand and led him away from the window and they continued walking through the shops; they were surprised that they had been left alone.  They were not complaining in the least but luckily they had been able to slip under the radar.  For that reason, Chris suggested that they not go to the nightclub event he had been invited to.  There would be quite a few celebrities there and media for sure, if they didn’t go they wouldn’t have to worry about being outed just yet.

Chris looked at his watch, it was close to 10 pm, he suggested they head back to the hotel and freshen up and head out to go drinking and dancing.  There were plenty of nightclubs to hit and all of them had VIP areas where they could party in private. 

“Did you only bring one fancy party dress?”

“Yes, you told me that was for a special night, is that tonight or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow; but you have something for this evening, right?  I mean do we need to go and a get you something?”

“No, I have another dress for tonight but it is not as fancy as tomorrows.  What is on the menu for tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you?”

She stuck out her lip and pretended to pout, “Not fair!”

He had been trying to hide his feelings for her but he was having a hard time keeping them under wraps.  She had been very vocal that she was worried about messing this up and he had concurred.  He had almost slipped and said a particular word to her several times during the day but he was not sure she was ready to hear it.  It was definitely no secret that he had a particular reputation for being a playboy and not being ready to settle down but she had changed that and it scared him that it happened so suddenly.

“Uh-oh, you look serious all of a sudden, Chris.  What’s going on in that head of your’s?”

“Oh, nothing, sorry, just thinking about where we should go tonight,” he was trying to quickly cover.

Chris offered the bathroom to Daisy, he said he had a few phone calls to make and she could start getting ready while he did that.  She gladly took him up on the offer and bounced off to the bathroom. She had showered, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and was starting to work on her makeup when he came in to take his shower.  It was the first time they had allowed each other the opportunity to shower unassisted. 

Chris took the chance to nibble on her neck as he walked behind her to get his clothes.  She moved her head to the side and giggled as he did this, she loved the feel of his lips on her skin.  He had to stop now or they would never leave the room and if he wanted to actually get dressed and go out it would be best to get ready in the bedroom.

He dressed in dark gray trousers and a white henley pullover, it was an outfit he wore to a party once and he had been told it was a good look.  He heard the clicking of Daisy’s heels on the bathroom tile and turned to see her walking toward him.  His breath caught, she was a black keyhole neckline dress with a swing skirt.

“Is it too much?” He couldn’t speak he just shook his head.  “It is too much, dang it.  It is the only thing I have other than pants and sweater, let me change.”

“Don’t you dare!” He was finally able to get out, “You look stunning.” 

“Well, you're not so bad yourself, Evans.”

 

 


	17. Let's Have a Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW some explicit content near end of chapter

When Chris and Daisy finally left their hotel suite, it was close to midnight.  They had decided that they would go ahead and go drinking and dancing; while this would be late in most towns, this was when things were just starting to heat up in Vegas.  Chris nodded to the bouncer as they entered the nightclub, he had been to the club before and apparently knew the man who let them in even though there was a significant line.  Chris led Daisy up a winding staircase to the VIP lounge where another bouncer acknowledged Chris with a nod and then opened the door to give them access.  The room was busy but by no means crowded so it provided the perfect atmosphere for the two of them.  The lounge was spacious and the lighting was low; there were large windows that looked down onto the dance floor of the club and couches lined the windows.  Along the back wall was an expansive bar with backlit shelves displaying every type of liquor you could imagine.

Just inside the door was another bouncer, this one sat on a stool next to a table with a lock box.  As Chris and Daisy walked past he spoke to them, “Excuse me, Mr. Evans, I’m going to need to ask you and your date to relinquish your cellular device please.”

Daisy was astonished, “Why?  Why do you need my phone?”

“Ma'am, this is a VIP club and we take the privacy of our guests very seriously.  For your protection, we prohibit the use of cellular devices and cameras within this area.  I hope you can understand,” the burly man was polite when speaking to her.

“Oh, I see,” she responded and handed her phone to the man.  Chris handed his over without comment.

“Thank you both for your cooperation, when you are ready to leave, just let us know and we will retrieve it for you.”

Chris nodded in acknowledgment and put his hand on the small of Daisy’s back and led her to a dark corner near the window; the couch had a secluded spot and it was perfect for the two of them.  They settled in and their waitress came over to take their drink over.  Chris ordered a gin and tonic and requested a cosmopolitan to start for Daisy.

“Why do you always order my drinks?”

“Did you know what you wanted to drink my dear?”

“Well, no, but that is beside the point.”

They had been drinking and getting cozy for a little more than an hour when Chris noticed his friend Zach walking toward them.  Zach was one of his best friends from back home in Boston and he knew he was out in Vegas this weekend.  When Daisy was in the shower, one of his phone calls had been to Zach to see if he wanted to come out and join them.  Zach was a tall man, around the same height at Chris, with sandy blonde hair and piercing green eyes.  He was well built and cut a nice figure in a pair of dress slacks and a pullover sweater.  Daisy could not help but wonder what was in the water in Boston that Chris and his friends were all so good looking.

Zach was with his girlfriend, Shannon, a statuesque brunette who was wearing a dress that was cut low and barely came down past her hips.  She apparently wanted to leave nothing to the imagination.  She was wearing high heels that put her right about the same height as Zach.  You would think a girl like that would walk in like she owned the place, not Shannon.  She didn’t strut when she walked and she didn’t sneer at people. Instead, she had a softness in her eyes and she smiled warmly at everyone.

As the two of them approached the table, Chris jumped up and greeted Zach with a handshake and a bro-hug.  Daisy gathered that they had not seen one another in several months so this was a reunion of sorts.  Chris did a quick introduction and as Daisy was introduced she could tell that Zach and Shannon had already had quite a bit to drink. 

Generally, the idea of meeting someone new would cause Daisy to shrink into wallflower mode, but she had already had several drinks so she was more friendly.  It helped that Shannon was friendly and relaxed as well; the two of them hit it off immediately.  The went the route of complimenting each other on their dresses and fashion sense but the ladies became instant best friends when Daisy looked down and noticed Shannon’s shoes.

“Shannon!  Oh my goodness, please tell me those are not the Jimmy Choo Cinderella shoes!” Daisy shrieked.

Chris and Zach stopped their conversation and looked over at the girls.  Chris had to laugh at how excited Daisy seemed to be at the sparkling shoes that Shannon was wearing.  He had to admit they were pretty but he wasn’t sure why she was so excited about them.

“They are!  I paid a king’s ransom for them – they aren’t supposed to be available until October but I was able to get a pair that had been made for fashion week.  I should never have paid that much for a pair or shoes but the are to die for!”

“I saw them in my bridal magazine, I wanted a pair for my store but there is no way I can afford them and no one coming into my store could afford them either.”

Shannon loved the fact that Daisy was a business owner and that it was adorable that she owned a bridal boutique in the middle of nowhere.  Shannon admitted that she and Zach were going to get married and while it would be fun to do a quickie wedding while they were in Vegas, she longed for a big romantic wedding.  Daisy offered for her to come to the store if she wanted to shop for dresses; she might be a small shop but she had excellent customer service.  Ever the salesperson, even when slightly inebriated.

The two ladies continued to chat when finally Shannon suggested that they go out and dance.  Daisy had noticed the dance floor when they first entered the VIP club but it had been empty the entire time she and Chris had been there.  She declined Shannon’s invite, at first, fearing she would go out there and dance and make an absolute fool of herself.  But Shannon wasn’t letting her off the hook so easily.  She asked Zach and Chris if they would go and get them fresh drinks; think the alcohol would do the trick.

As Daisy drank whatever Chris had ordered for her this time, Shannon continued to loosen her up and prod her into going dancing.  “C’mon Daisy, I don’t want to dance on my own and you know you want to do it,” Shannon pulled Daisy’s arm and, this time, there was no resistance.  The two ladies kicked off their shoes and left them at the table and then made their way to the dance floor.

The music was being pumped in from the dance floor below so the DJ had no idea what the girls upstairs were doing.  It was probably a good thing.  They were definitely cutting loose and Daisy had more moves than she had let on.  Zach and Chris were in the corner talking; while Zach was not paying much attention to the ladies, Chris never took his eyes off of Daisy.

This did not escape Shannon, “Hey Daisy, how long have you and Chris been together?”

“Um…a few weeks, why?”

“Well that boy is watching you right now like a hawk watches its prey.”

Daisy glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Chris was looking at her quite intently.  She gave a little wave and then went right back to dancing.  She didn’t see the smile that crossed his lips when she did that or when her hips began to shake a little more. 

The music from downstairs started to change to slower and seductive music, which meant the dancing moved in that direction as well.  Shannon leaned over to Daisy, “I have an idea, why don’t we give the boys a show?”

“What do you mean?” Daisy asked innocently, not quite catching on to what Shannon was referring to.

“He isn’t taking his eyes off of you, the music is changing, let’s have a little fun.”  Shannon quickly filled Daisy in on her idea and Daisy agreed.

The two began to dance slowly and move toward one another. Eventually dancing close together, their hands on each other’s shoulders and their hips gyrating.  As the song became more seductive, so did their moves.  Shannon seemed to lead and Daisy was following, or was it the other way around? They were either oblivious to everyone in the VIP area watching them or they were enjoying giving them a show.  Either way, they didn’t let up and the dancing was getting hotter and hotter.  Chris had to readjust himself on the couch and that caught Zach’s eye and made him instantly turn around to see what Chris was watching.

His eyes went wide, he could not believe what he was seeing and more importantly, what he had been missing.   “Holy shit, I thought you said your girlfriend was extremely shy?  Seems she gets a little wild when she gets to drinking.”

“Shut the fuck up Zach, I’m watching the ladies work.  Don’t kill the buzz.”

“Well your little wallflower better not steal my girlfriend, that’s all I’m saying.”

Chris never imagined that Daisy would have something like this in her and was not sure how he should react; was he supposed to be turned on or jealous – the answer was both.  He was instantly hard and was ready to spring off the couch and have his way with her right there on the dance floor.  The ladies continued to dance, their inhibitions were gone and he was almost positive the two women were going to kiss and he was afraid he might explode if they did. 

His hands were twitching, his throbbing cock could not take much more of this.  Shannon could see this in his eyes from across the room.  She leaned into Daisy’s ear and whispered, “You need to go over and give your baby a private dance, I think he has a need for you…you’re turning him on.”

Daisy looked up at Shannon, “In public?  I can’t do that!”

“Sure you can, you know you want to, he won’t last long, sugar.  And you can’t tell me that with this music and that man that you aren’t turned on.  Besides, have you looked around and noticed that there are other couples up here doing that already?”

Daisy quickly looked around and then nodded at Shannon; smiling she released her hand from Shannon’s and began to walk over toward the couch.  When Zach saw her walking that way, he excused himself and moved toward the dance floor.  Providing privacy in the dark corner for Chris and Daisy.  Chris had reclined back, his arm along the back of the couch and his legs slightly spread apart.  Daisy could see the bulge in his pants and smiled because she knew she was the reason for it.

She stood between his legs with her knees against the couch, she leaned forward, “Would you like your own private dance baby?”  She whispered seductively in his ear.

He couldn’t respond with words, he could only nod.  Daisy hiked up her skirt and climbed onto the couch, straddling him.  She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to capture his lips, thl of herself.

 slightly inebriated.

or dresseeir tongues colliding and the passion exploding.  The song was fast and Daisy began to move on his lap to the pace of the song, he immediately put his hands on her hips to stop her; they never broke from their kiss.

When they did break the kiss, Daisy tried to move again and Chris kept her in place, “Why don’t you want me to move baby?  Don’t you like my dancing?” 

Chris was holding on to the fabric of her dress as if he held on for life, “I don’t think I can take it if you move, I’m on the edge baby,” his words were breathless and she could tell he was struggling to speak.  The music changed, it was as if the DJ knew what was about to go down. 

The song Black Velvet began to pipe through the sound system and Daisy had a devilish twinkle in her eye and she reached for his hands, taking them in hers.  She began to move to the song, grinding her hips into him and he squeezed her hands hard, knuckles turning white, he wasn’t kidding he was fighting the urge to cum.  She stopped moving and let go of his hands, reaching down in front of her she pulled up her skirt and reached for his the zipper on his trousers.

“Daisy, what are you doing?”  He was stunned at what was happening, “Honey, we are in public you can’t do that.”

“I have a long skirt, no one can see what we are doing.  We’re in a dark corner and you need to cum, so let me help you,” she said then leaned forward to kiss him and in doing so raised her hips off of him ever so slightly.

At this point, Chris didn’t care, he needed this and if she was offering he wasn’t going to say no.  He reached under her skirt to push her panties to the side and on cue she lowered herself onto him.  She tossed her head back in pleasure as she took him in completely, the feeling was exquisite.  This was a new sensation for her and she had to admit that she liked it.

Chris let out a guttural moan as she slid down his cock, her walls were wet and tight and he was doing all he could to hold on.  “Fuck, it’s always the quiet girls that surprise you the most.”

The song provided the perfect tempo for her to move and for anyone in the club to think she was doing nothing more than giving her boyfriend a lap dance.  However, the long skirt and the dark corner provided the perfect cover for them to be able to take care of the need that had been building through the evening.  Chris buried his head in Daisy’s neck and held on to her hips as he thrust one final time and exploded into her as the song was coming to an end.

 

 


	18. Regrets, I've Had a Few

Chris and Daisy were on the couch in the dark corner of the VIP section of the club.  The tempo of the music was beginning to pick up again but Chris didn’t move.  His head was buried in Daisy’s neck, his breathing was finally slowing down and getting back to normal.  His mind was screaming at him for what he had just done; his only saving grace was the fact that there were no cell phones in the VIP area.  He prayed that the tinted glass behind him was dark enough so that no one down on the dance floor below was able to look up and glean what might have been taking place or at least who was involved.  He didn’t need this getting out in the tabloids.  This was the first time he was having any type of regret with Daisy; they had both been drinking and that made the entire scenario worse. 

Instead of pulling away and seeming cold and distant, he kissed her neck and nuzzled into her.  The last few minutes were a blur, he had let her control the pace since she was on top and she rocked and writhed on his lap perfectly.  He came quickly, which he knew would happen because he had to keep from coming when she slid down on top of him.  She did something to him, something carnal, because he didn’t get worked up like that generally.   He couldn’t explain it and part of him didn’t want an explanation.

He realized that Daisy was acting as if she didn’t want to be touched; she wasn’t reciprocating any of the affection he was giving.  Was she able to tell that he was going through the motions?  When he pulled back to look at her, he saw a blankness in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”  He asked.

“I want to get off your lap, but I can’t just leave you exposed.”

“Ok, can you ease off just a little so I can pull out?”  She nodded and was able to move so that if anyone else was watching they couldn’t tell that is what she was doing.  He reached under her skirt as she moved and pulled himself out and tucked himself back into is trouser and zipped them up.  “Okay, I’m all set,” he told her. 

She didn’t immediately move, “Are you worried we might have made a mess of your pants?”

“No, I think we are fine,” he said coldly, “But can you hand me one of those napkins so I can wipe my hands?”

She did as he asked and then rolled to the side so she was sitting next to him on the couch.  She said nothing else and didn’t even sit close enough to touch him.  After a minute, she stood and retrieved her shoes from the other side of the table and then sat back down. 

Zach and Shannon noticed that they were seated next to one another and took this as their opportunity to be able to rejoin them.  As they were approaching, Shannon could tell that Daisy looked a little upset.  She whispered into Zach’s ear to not say anything; unfortunately, Zach never passes up an opportunity this golden.

“Fuck, you two should have charged admission because that was one hell of a show!”

Daisy propelled herself off the couch and ran to the ladies room just around the corner.  Luckily, she made it into a stall just in time before emptying the contents of her stomach.  A moment later she heard the door open and the click of heels, Shannon had come to check on her.  Shannon said nothing but ran the water in the sink and a moment later pulled the stall door open and handed Daisy a wet towel.

Daisy wiped her mouth, flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall.  Shannon was standing against the wall, sympathy in her eyes but she said nothing.  Daisy walked to the sink and rinsed her mouth out; thankfully the VIP lounge had mouthwash in the bathrooms.  When she finished fixing herself up, she turned and looked at Shannon, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“I just want to know if you are okay?  Can I do anything for you?”

“You aren’t going to lecture me or anything?”

“Daisy, I feel awful because it was my idea and evidently you regret it.  I’m really sorry.”

“I think he regrets it and I feel ashamed.  I can’t believe I did that.”

“You cut loose, everyone needs to do that from time to time.”  Shannon pulled her into an embrace, “It will be alright, just hold your head high when you go back out there and act like nothing happened.  I’ll help get you out of here with your dignity.”

Daisy smiled and agreed.  She pulled the door open and walked out of the bathroom and as they got back to the couch, Chris and Zach stood up to greet them; neither man said anything. 

Shannon turned to Zach, “Sweetie, I think Daisy and I have discovered that the last drinks we had didn’t settle right.  I’m not feeling so hot either.  Can we just go on back to the hotel, please?”

When Chris heard Shannon’s words he immediately moved to Daisy’s side, “Hey, are you alright?”

“I think I just had a little bit more to drink than I should have, I think I need to just lie down for a bit,” Daisy said, playing along with what Shannon said so that she could use being drunk as an excuse.

“Um, yeah, sure, whatever you want,” Chris put his arm around her waist and turned to Zach, “Hey, I’m going to take her back to the hotel so I’ll give you a call about drinks later tonight, okay man?”

“Sounds great man, I hope you feel better Daisy,” Zach offered.  He watched the two of them walk off and collect their cell phones and leave the VIP area.  Only when they were safely out of the area did he turn to Shannon, “Is she really sick?”

“Yeah, she puked her guts up but I don’t think it was just the alcohol.  I believe she was ashamed of what she did and I think she believes Chris regrets it.”

“He does, he told me,” Zach answered matter of fact.

~ * ~

Chris walked Daisy over to the table to retrieve their cell phones and then led her down the stairs and out of the club.  He didn’t say anything but he had a firm hold on her and was not letting go.  He helped her into a waiting car and as the car door slammed she moved the opposite side of the seat to put some distance between them.  Chris didn’t object but he did watch her carefully.

When they exited the car at the hotel, she walked a few steps behind him through the lobby and towards the elevator.  Once inside, she again kept her distance and elected to say nothing.  Chris walked into the hotel room and tossed the room key onto the table next to the door and began walking back toward the bedroom.  Daisy walked to the couch in the living room, plopping down and staring out at the lights of the strip.  Everything looked so peaceful even though there was a storm raging in her head. 

Chris had undressed and realized she had not followed him into the bedroom.  He was dressed only in his boxers and he walked out into the living room, standing behind the couch he finally spoke, “Are you going to come to bed?”

Her response was faint, “No, I’m going to stay out here.”

He didn’t argue with her or attempt to change her mind, he turned and went back to the bedroom.

~ * ~  
Daisy startled herself awake, she had a nightmare and didn’t realize where she was.  She tried to move and realized she was held down.  It took a minute for her to understand that she was in the soft bed of the hotel suite and she wasn’t pinned down but Chris was spooned against her with his arm protectively wrapped around her.

She didn't remember coming into the bedroom.  The last thing she remembered was being in the living room and deciding to sleep there, telling Chris he could have the bedroom.  She noticed she was covered in the bed sheet but realized she was completely naked underneath.  She didn’t remember removing her clothes, either.   

She tried to wiggle out of his hold but for every attempt, he just held her tighter.  Finally, she heard him whisper, "I'm not letting you go, just relax.  There is no need to run."

"I'm sorry Chris."

"Quit apologizing and go to sleep.  You need to rest and we will talk about it later.  But just know that we are good...better than good, okay?"

She didn’t respond but she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. 

~ * ~

A flood of light came into the bedroom as Chris pulled back the curtains letting in the midday sun.  Daisy rolled over and moved her arm over her eyes to shield out the sun

"Come on Sleeping Beauty, it's time to get up and face the day."

"Ugh..what time is it?"

Chris walked over and sat on the side of the bed, "It’s 4 pm and tonight we’ve got a dinner reservation at 9 pm.  So, I made you an appointment to get a massage and then to have your hair and makeup done.  You need to be downstairs in 30 minutes.  Get up, take a shower and get dressed.”

"Why did you do that?" she asked groggily

"Because I am an awesome boyfriend who wanted to spoil you and make you feel good.  Come on beautiful you need to get moving.”

Daisy sat up on the bed and Chris stood and offered his hand to help pull her up.  She took it, grudgingly, and began padding off towards the bathroom.  She did take note that he did not kiss her or show her any affection; she was pretty sure their fairytale was coming to an end.

She started to walk out of the suite and noticed Chris was in the living room reading emails.  He looked up when he heard her walking in, “Do you know where the spa is, babe?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure I can find it.  Do I need the access code for the elevator to get back up here?”

“Yeah, I texted it to your phone while you were in the shower.  Enjoy the pampering and I will see you when you get back.”

“Chris?”  She said his name tentatively, not really sure what she was going to say.  “I’m really sorry about last night,” she was looking at the floor, unable to look at him because she didn’t want to see the look of anger or disappointment in his eyes.

He got up from the couch and walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and then kissing the top of her head, “Go get pampered and don’t worry about it.  No frowns or pouts, okay?”

It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear and didn’t give her any encouragement.  She gave a nod, however, and moved toward the door and off to her spa appointment.

~ * ~

Daisy walked back into the hotel room at 7:30, the lights were dim and for a moment, she was afraid she was in the wrong place.  A small lamp was on in the living room and the dimmer light over the dining room table was on in the middle room but as she made her way to the bedroom, she could see all of the lights were on.  Chris was sitting on the end of the end of the bed watching the television.  He had his suit pants on and a white dress shirt but it was not buttoned and he did not have on a tie.  She didn’t know how dressed up he would be and she was terrified she might end up being overdressed.

She cleared her throat to let him know she was back, “I’m just going to go and finish getting ready.”

His eyes didn’t move from the television, “Ok, your dress is still in the bag but it is hanging up in the bathroom.”

She was disappointed that he didn’t seem interested in looking at her and he had not shown any affection all day.  She wished she could get out of going to dinner but after the money he spent on the massage, hair, and makeup it would be rude for her to make the suggestion.  She unzipped the bag and pulled out the pink dress and stepped into it.  The dress was magnificent and made her feel like a princess.  She smoothed out the skirt and made final adjustments before turning to leave the bathroom, that is when she saw him standing there.

This time, he was completely dressed wearing a charcoal gray suit with a white shirt and a pastel pink tie that matched the color of her dress perfectly.  He also had a pocket square in the perfect shade of pastel pink.  She could not hold back her surprise, “Wow, you look amazing.”

“You, my dear, are exquisite but you are missing something,” he walked over to the closet and she could hear him rustling a bag.  When he turned around, he had a shoe box in his hand and when he opened it she saw the Louboutin pumps she had been staring at the day before.  Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes went wide.  “These, my dear are for you and I think you are correct, they will match your dress.”

She shook her head, “I can’t take these.  I…I…I can’t wear them.  Why…what…I’m at a loss Chris.”

“They are my gift to you.  Angel, you wanted them, I could tell the way you looked at them through the window.  I buy nice things for the people I love and you wanted these shoes.”

She stared at him for a minute, trying to digest what he had said.  “Chris, did you just say?”

He stepped toward her and put the shoes on the countertop, “Yeah, I did.  Look, I know you think I am mad about last night and I’m not.  I freaked out, that’s all, and if you are honest with yourself, you will admit you freaked out, too.  Daisy, I can’t explain it but the two of us have clicked in a way I have never clicked with anyone else.”

“I had too much to drink last night.”

“No, you were fine.  You let loose and I liked the Daisy that came out to play.  You were not afraid and you had fun and you were daring.  It was beautiful to watch and I was aroused and turned on and you knew it.  I’ve done a hell of a lot of crazy things Daisy, but I have not had sex in public in a club before.  That was a first and I will admit that I regretted it and freaked out.  But, I’m over it because honestly, it was a beautiful moment between us and I realized I wouldn’t give that up.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“No, not at all.  I have been in love with you, Daisy Proctor, from the moment we met.  It just took a little bit of time for my head and heart to catch up to one another,” he put his hands on her face and softly kissed her lips, a sensual kiss that felt as if it lasted for hours.  “Now, please put on these lovely shoes I bought you and we have a dinner reservation to go to.”

 


	19. Dinner and Ring Shopping

Daisy had been taken off guard by Chris’s declaration and she had not been able to say it back in response.  She wanted to, she knew that she was in love with him but she couldn’t help but wonder if he just loved the idea of her or was he truly in love with her.  She wasn’t really in the mood to argue with him and they were running short on time for their dinner reservation.  He had worn down her defenses and she accepted the shoes.  It was a generous gift and she could not break his heart by turning them down; plus now she had her very own pair!  Her friend Melody would be so jealous.

Daisy put on the shoes and her earrings and once again Chris told her she looked exquisite.  Once they were ready, they walked out of the hotel room and towards the elevator.  Chris slid his arm around her waist and kissed her temple, “Tonight is a new night, we are going to have a fantastic dinner and then meet up with Zach and Shannon for drinks and surprise.”

“Oh?  Zach and Shannon, are you sure you trust me with her again tonight?”

“Absolutely, I have nothing to worry about!”

The walked out of the hotel into the crisp night air and into their waiting limo.  They had a short drive to the casino where they were having dinner.  Their reservation was at Alize at the Palms, one of the most romantic restaurants in Vegas.  The restaurant was on the 56th floor of the Palms’ tower; the elevator ride up was slightly unnerving for Daisy.  However, when the doors opened, she felt as if the long ride was worth it.  They were walked through a gorgeous wine room and bar area before entering the formal main dining room with floor to ceiling glass windows offering a breathtaking view of the city.

Daisy felt as if all eyes were on them.  They probably were, Chris’ face was everywhere these days thanks to the press for the movie and she was sure he was easily recognizable.  Chris felt comfortable enough that everyone was actually looking at his date; Daisy was stunning in her dress and she definitely oozed confidence when she walked. As they were seated, a waiter appeared with a wine list and presented it to Chris.  He didn’t need to look at it, he simply ordered a red wine and the waiter shuffled off.

“I take it you come here often?”

“Actually, no, I’ve never been here.  My agent told me about this place and told me which wine I should get, so I had a little inside information.”

“Ah, I see.  So, tell me, Chris, this isn’t a romantic dinner to end our fairytale is it?”

His eyes went wide, he was not expecting that question, “No, more than no, an emphatic no,” he leaned forward so that he could speak in a low tone and be sure that the tables around them would not overhear the conversation.  “Daisy, I meant what I said to you in the hotel.  I wasn’t just saying that.  I do love you and if you aren’t ready to say it back to me, I understand, but I’m not walking away from this relationship.”

The waiter returned with the bottle of wine and poured two glasses.  He took their order and stepped away again, leaving Daisy and Chris alone to their conversation.

“So, if we can’t talk about last night, what can we talk about?  Can we talk about what we are going to do after dinner?”

Chris smiled and took a drink, “You don’t like surprises do you?”

“No, I prefer to have everything spelled out for me so I am not thrown for a loop later.  I like to plan, and that includes planning the plan,” she said giggling and reaching for her drink.

“Okay, well we are going to have dinner and I will most likely try to kiss you on that long elevator ride downstairs. And then we are going to go meet up with Zach and Shannon, they need some help with something and then we are going to go to another club and drink and dance and then go back to the hotel.”

“And you won’t give me any details on the Zach and Shannon thing?”

“Nope!  Not my place to do that but just enjoy yourself.”

Dinner was served and they began to eat in silence but Daisy had to bring up something else from last night.  “Chris, how is it that I ended up waking up in the bedroom versus the living room?” Her question was innocent and she asked in a soft tone.

“I went to bed like you told me to,” he started out, “But woke up about an hour or so later and went in to check on you.  You were out cold and looked uncomfortable on the couch.  So, I picked you up and carried you to the bedroom, you didn’t wake up at all.”

“You carried me into the bedroom?”  She was a bit shocked at his nonchalance in providing this information.

“Yeah, you aren’t that heavy,” he said with a wink, “I got you out of your dress and put you on the bed and snuggled up to you and went back to sleep.  You started struggling about an hour or so later.”

“So you are a light sleeper because you told me to go back to bed?”

“You remember that part, eh?  I’m not that light of a sleeper but you were struggling more than you realize, I think you were having a dream or something and it woke me up.”

Daisy continued to eat her dinner and didn’t respond to anything that Chris had said.  He watched as she put her head down and didn’t make eye contact.  He put his fork down, wiped his mouth with his napkin and then leaned forward on the table. 

“Daisy, you were having a nightmare, what were you dreaming about?”

“Nothing, it’s stupid,” she answered without looking up.

“Look up at me, sweetie, please,” he quietly begged and she did as he asked, slowly lifting her head.  Her eyes were sad but she wasn’t crying, “You had a nightmare because of the club, right?  You made yourself sick last night because you thought you messed up, right?”

She slowly nodded her head, “I told you I do things to mess up the relationships I want.  I don’t know why I let Shannon suggest that I do, you know that and then actually go through with it.  That is not the sort of thing I do, I’m not that kind of girl.”

Chris let out a light laugh, “Oh sweetie, let’s get something out in the open, shall we?  I loved what you did and I do think that you have that in you but you play it safe and are afraid to show that side of you.  You thought you messed up because I gave you that impression.  I was, um, less than enthusiastic after,” Chris admitted.  He reached for his wine glass knowing he needed to get a drink to get through the rest of this conversation.  “I began to freak out over the consequences, who might have seen us or did someone have a picture of it or worse, a video.  I went into damage control mode and shut you out and that is not something I should have done because it made you feel like you did something wrong and believe me, angel, you did nothing wrong.”

“We shouldn’t have done that in public,” she murmured.

“No, that was not the best idea but at least, we did it in a club with a no cell phone policy and we were in a dark corner.  The chances of anyone finding out about it are slim, so we should be good,” he offered with a smile.  Then he said something she was not expecting, “You know what is lost in all the discussions we have had about what happened?  The fact that it was highly erotic, I have never been so turned on before and that it was incredible.”

Daisy put her head down and began to blush, “Well, thank you but I had the most perfect inspiration; an incredibly sexy man on the couch who had piercing blue eyes.”

They completed their dinner and decided to skip dessert; what they wanted wasn’t on the menu anyway.  Chris settled the bill and escorted Daisy out of the restaurant.  As they were heading back to their waiting car, Chris called Zach to find out if they were ready to meet up and they were.  He directed the driver to head over to the Forum Shops.

“Why are we going back to Caesar’s?”

“Ok, Zach and Shannon have decided to go ahead and get married tonight so we are going to pick out their rings at the Hearts on Fire store and then they have a wedding chapel appointment.  Then we are going to go out drinking and partying to celebrate the wedding.”

“I thought she wanted a big formal affair?”

“I don’t know, she changed her mind I guess.  Zach told me about this last night before everything happened.  I called him earlier when you were still asleep to find out if everything was still a go.”

Chris and Daisy made their way through the Casino and Forum Shops entrance and over to the jewelry store, Shannon and Zach were already there looking at rings.  Daisy gave Shannon a hug and congratulated her on the impending wedding.  She then began walking around and looking at the jewelry herself.  Chris walked up behind her, catching her off-guard.

“Isn’t it a little early to be looking at engagement rings?”

She jumped at the sound of his voice, “You scared me!  These aren’t engagement rings silly, these are just regular rings.  I would not be so presumptuous to look at an engagement ring.”

“Why?  Don’t you think we’ll get married?”

“We’ve been dating for a month, I think it’s a little early to think about that don’t you?”

The two of them strolled around the store and made their way back to Zach and Shannon.  It was then that she was put on the spot by Shannon.  “Daisy, I can’t make up my mind so I would like your advice.  Out of these three rings, which do you like the best?”

Daisy looked over her selection and while they were all stunning, there was one that spoke to her.  It was the love five-stone band in platinum and it was one of the most stunning rings she had ever seen.  She told Shannon that it was her absolute favorite but that the other rings were also beautiful and she could not go wrong with whatever selection she made.  Shannon went with Daisy’s second favorite, the floral diamond band. 

Shannon and Daisy went outside while Chris stayed with Zach while he completed the purchase.  They were window shopping at the adjacent stores when Shannon started the conversation, “Is everything alright with you and Chris?”

“He told me earlier tonight that he loves me,” she said it quietly and without a lot of emotion in her voice.

“Oh my God, Daisy you’re kidding?  That’s fantastic, wow, I’m so happy for the two of you,” she looked at Daisy and noticed there was no excitement from her with this revelation.  “Oh Daisy, why aren’t you happy about this?  I thought you would feel the same way about him?”

“Oh I do, I haven’t told him that yet but I do feel the same way.  This just puts a whole new wrinkle in the relationship thing, I mean I leave tomorrow to go home and him dropping the love word on me before I go is only making the distance thing harder.  We’ve been dating a month Shannon, a month and he tells me he loves me.”

“Well, when you find the right one you don’t need to follow a calendar or a clock,” Shannon offered with a shrug.

“Damn you are no help.  I have a store, I can’t just close up and move to LA.  And would I move to LA?  I mean, or would I move to Boston?  Good God, I can’t figure out what is supposed to make sense in a relationship that isn’t supposed to make sense at all anyway.”

 

 

 


	20. Zach and Shannon Get Married

Chris stayed in the store with Zach, although he kept walking up and down the cases of rings just looking at all of the different styles and cuts of diamonds.  He was confused by the different cuts, settings, and types of bands available.  Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t realize that Zach had walked back towards him.

“She liked this one over here,” he said, thumbing in the direction of the case to the right of where they were standing.

“What?  Did you say something?”  Chris asked as if he didn’t catch that Zach had been talking to him.

“Daisy, she liked the ring over in the other case.  It was just a wedding band though and not an engagement ring so maybe you better start with that.  Unless you plan on just whisking her off and marrying her and not doing the whole engagement thing and then the wedding band would work just fine.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to buy an engagement ring yet, I only just told her I loved her earlier today and I think I scared the hell out of her.”

“What?  Dude, you’re kidding?  Wow, Chris, this is fast for you.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.  I swear Zach it’s like I just know that this relationship is right.  I can’t explain how a chance meeting with her has led me to this but I’m not complaining.  I just don’t want to screw it up because I really do think this one can be forever.”

Chris did ask to see the ring that Daisy liked, just to get an idea of what her style was; Zach was more than happy to show his friend the ring and give him a little ribbing about it at the same time.  Zach finished up his transaction and when the two were ready, they walked back out of the store and went in search of their dates.  They found them in what appeared to be an intense conversation and they could tell they were not arguing with one another.  They could see that their lips were moving fast and they were animated with their hands; women always talked with their hands when they were trying to make a point.

They cautiously walked toward the ladies, trying to maintain a sightline so that they did not claim that the men snuck up on them.  Chris noticed as they got closer to them, the ladies dropped their conversation and got quiet.  It made him wonder what they had been talking about and then he determined he might not want to know.  He would ask Daisy about it later.

Since Daisy and Chris had access to the car service, they were using it to drive them to the wedding.  Ironically, Zach and Shannon and chosen to get married at the Aria Tower Suites in the Fireside Lounge.  It was an intimate area that would provide a romantic location for the ceremony.  Once the ceremony was concluded, they were going to go to one of the lounges at the hotel and have a few drinks before heading over to a nightclub to party into the night.

Shannon had admitted that while she wanted to have a big romantic wedding, she didn’t want to wait for how long it would take to plan.  She would rather go ahead and get married and if she had to plan it would be for a massive reception where she could invite all of her friends and family.  She told Daisy she would still love to come to her shop and buy a dress there for the reception and Daisy agreed to help her find the perfect dress and would give her a great deal.

When they arrived at the hotel, Shannon got out of the car and grabbed Daisy’s hand pulling her along with her.  Shannon had brought her wedding dress over to the hotel earlier in the day and she had just enough time for a quick change of clothes before the ceremony.  Zach and Chris slowly followed behind; figuring they need not rush.  Daisy followed Shannon into the dressing room off to the side of the fireside lounge and helped her into her dress.  Once she was in and everything in its place, Daisy left Shannon alone and walked toward the room.

The room was simple yet elegant; chairs were set up with an aisle down the middle and the officiant would stand in front of the large wall with the horizontal fireplace that ran from end to end.  The lighting was low so that the fire provided the central glow in the room.  There were white flowers in the back of the room near the entrance and petals down the aisle. There were also large white flower arrangements at the front row of seats.  It provided just the right amount of elegance in the room without being over done.  Daisy walked into the lounge and walked toward the front where Zach and Chris were standing.  Chris could not help but smile at how beautiful she looked and hoped one day she would be walking down that aisle toward him. 

The wedding march began to play over the sound system and Shannon made her entrance.  She wore a beautiful trumpet style lace applique dress with a sweetheart neckline that provided off the shoulder sleeves.  There was a jeweled belt at the waist that helped to show off her figure beautifully.  Daisy was jealous of Shannon in this dress, she was tall so the dress hung perfectly on her and matched her body type.  Whoever sold it to her knew what they were doing and Daisy was jealous on the professional level as well.  Chris had to lean over and remind Zach to breathe and Daisy had to admit that it was a sweet moment. 

Shannon and Zach were an ideal match and their wedding was sweet and their vows were perfect.    She had only known them for a little more than 24 hours but she had really liked Shannon and felt like they could be friends forever.  Daisy actually felt uncomfortable though when they kissed; it really was a little intense for the room.  Chris walked over to her and pulled her in for a kiss of his own and then whispered in her ear, “One day that will be us.  Okay, not that kind of kiss though because it might be inappropriate for our families.”

She smiled back at him, “One day, Chris and you are right, no kiss like that.”

~ * ~

Following the wedding, the four of them headed off to a nightclub to drink and dance.  Like the night before, they were able to secure access to a VIP room.  Also, like the night before, there was a no cell phone policy and Daisy did not challenge it this time.  It was hard to believe but this club was a little darker than the previous one – there were not as many windows looking down on the main club and the bar was not as backlit.  Daisy didn’t care and no one else seemed to mind at all.

Chris felt it only proper to order champagne since they were celebrating.  Daisy had never really been one to enjoy champagne so she was unsure of how it would impact her; she would find out almost immediately.  One glass in and she could already feel a buzz but she tried to maintain composure so not to let Chris know.  She had several more drinks and it was becoming a little more difficult for it to remain hidden.

Shannon asked if she wanted to dance and Daisy did not hesitate; however, she did tell Shannon there would be no lap dances tonight.  They were enjoying the music and when the seductive music started, Chris and Zach decided to join them on the dance floor.  Chris stepped directly behind Daisy and she reached up to loop her hands around his neck and danced with him that way.  His hands on her hips and occasionally roaming down her thighs or up her stomach.  He was careful not to grope her breasts or go under her skirt, he didn’t want to start something that could cause them an issue in the club.  Not tonight, he didn’t want that tonight.

After several songs they went back to their table to finish off another bottle of champagne; they couldn’t remember if that was their second or third bottle.  The only thing that Daisy was sure of was that tonight Chris was more intoxicated than he was the night before.  They decided to go ahead and skip another bottle and go with their regular drinks and continue to dance.  Chris lost his tie and jacket.  Well, he didn’t lose them, he left them at the table and rolled up his shirt sleeves and unbuttoned a few buttons.  They were enjoying the night and Daisy was enjoying his dance moves.

The two of them were not shy when it came to PDA either.  Where she was once afraid to kiss him in public, she was not worried about that this evening.  They were careful not to go to far and they were tasteful in their actions, but they were certainly not hiding that they were a couple.  Thank heavens for the no cell phone rule.

~ * ~

The buzzing of an alarm began to break the silence of the room.  Daisy opened her eyes in the darkness and tried to focus on the sound and where the offending device might be.  She realized it was in her purse which was not in the vicinity of the bed.  She kicked off the covers and scurried to find it before Chris woke up.  As she opened the bedroom door, she was assaulted by the bright sunshine coming into the hotel room from the large, uncovered windows in the living and dining rooms. 

She found her purse, sitting on the floor near the dining room table and realized from the clock that it was 11:30 am – her flight home left in 2.5 hours.  It was at this time that she finally realized she was naked, not a stitch of clothing on.  She looked down and saw that both her clothes and Chris’ clothes were scattered along the floor from the front door of the room all the way back to the bedroom door.  She was currently standing on his dress pants.  She certainly didn’t remember this.  What in the hell happened?

She scurried around to pick up all of the clothes and rushed back to the bedroom.  The alarm had been set so she would know she needed to leave and get to the airport, she didn’t intend for it be an alarm to wake her up.  She found her bag in the bathroom and began stuffing all of her clothes into it.  She didn’t have time to make sure everything was correctly folded and packed.  She really didn’t have a chance to take care of the chiffon dress she wore last night; she went ahead and put it on a hanger and put it back in the garment bag and figured she would have to worry about getting it cleaned and cared for when she got home.  She had kept a few things out for her to get dressed for the trip home.  She looked at herself in the mirror and she looked like a trainwreck.

For the plane ride home, she surmised she could get by with her hair in a messy ponytail and no makeup.  She would be landing late anyway and no one would be at the airport to get her, she had her own car.  This way she could get home and go right to bed and get up in the morning to get ready for work.  Besides, she had a screaming headache thanks to the alcohol and looking like death warmed over would be her penance and would match what she felt like.

She began to wipe off her face and took off her earrings and jewelry.  She realized she was wearing a ring that she didn’t remember putting on but if she didn’t remember stripping in the hallway how could she remember what she put on to go out?  But this was a beautiful ring and it did look familiar.  She tossed it in her makeup bag along with her earrings.  She threw the makeup bag down in her purse and then hurried to put on her socks and tennis shoes.

She walked out of the bathroom with her bags and stopped to admire the naked man laying on the bed.  Chris was completely naked with a sheet covering a section of his ass.  He was such a sexy man and it was taking everything within her not to take advantage of him at that moment.  Instead, she walked around the bed so she was near his head and gently kissed him.

He stirred when he heard her voice, “What time is it and why does my head feel like it is full of cement?”

“I feel the same way, it's now noon and my flight leaves at 2.  I have to go, what time are you supposed to leave?”

He slowly sat up and pulled the sheet across his lap.  He started to scratch his beard and squeeze his eyes shut so he could think, “Um, six I think.  Damn, I don’t have time to get ready and take you to the airport.”

“No, it's okay.  I’ll call you when I get home tonight.”  She kissed him softly and began to walk out of the room.  She stopped at the door and then walked back and gave him another kiss and said, “I love you.”


	21. What Happened in Vegas

Daisy told Chris that she loved him and then walked out the door.  If she had stayed to hear his reaction or waited for him to say it back, then she never would have left and she would have missed her flight.  No, she needed to stay focused and get out of the hotel before she did something stupid like running back to him.  She was not quite sure how this was going to work, three time zones in between them and the world apart in terms of their jobs and lifestyles.  She was not talking herself out of her relationship with him; no, she was just now sure how love was going to complicate an already complicated situation.

She was able to utilize the car service and get a ride to the airport.  Luckily she was able to clear security rather quickly and get to her gate with time to spare.  Actually, with enough time to allow her to get a cup of coffee so she could try to ward off the jackhammer in her head that was reminding her that she drank a ridiculous amount of alcohol the night before.  She just didn’t want to get sick on the plane, there was nothing worse than puking your guts up on an airplane.

She pulled her phone out of her purse.  She had not paid much attention to her phone the last few days; she had a few messages from Kimberly just letting her know the store was doing fine and not to worry.  Her dad had texted her to ask if she was having fun and to let her know that her mom was still in the dark about her whereabouts.  Other than that, Daisy had ignored her emails and text messages, now seemed like the perfect time to go ahead and start answering them.

But as she lit up her phone she noticed a message from Chris that he must have sent as she walked out the door.

                _I love you and miss you already_

She had to smile, it was so sweet and she was glad that she finally gave in and said those words back to him.  She only kicked herself for waiting so long to tell them to him.  She answered a few emails and then heard the gate announcement for her flight.   Without hesitation, she picked up her bags and headed for the gate.  She wanted nothing more than to settle into her seat and try to sleep on the flight home.

~ * ~

The flight attendant gently shook her shoulder to let her know they were on final approach and would be landing soon.  The sleep she had been able to get had helped.  Her headache gone she felt like she could easily handle the hour long drive to her house.  When the plane landed, she made her way to her car and checked the time.  She didn’t think Chris would be home yet but she went ahead and send him a text.

                _Just landed, have an hour drive home, will let you know when I am there.  Miss you….love you_

She pulled out of her parking spot, paid the parking attendant and started the drive home.  She was almost home when her phone rang.  “Hi, are you home, did you get my message?”

“Hey baby, yeah, are you still driving?”

“Yeah, I am about ten minutes from the house. How are you feeling?  Does your head still feel like cement?”

“It isn’t so bad, but it isn’t great.  I’ve taken several Advil and I’m going to go to bed but I wanted to talk to you first.  I feel horrible that I didn’t take you to the airport.”

“Don’t, if you had I would have been a blubbering mess.  This way ended up being better, I promise.  I’m sorry I couldn’t help you get all of your stuff together, you got everything, right?”

“Yeah, hey you didn’t get a call from Shannon or Zach did you?”

“No, why?  Is something wrong?”

“Zach left me a voicemail message while I was in the air, something about he needs to talk to me about last night.  He’s got something I’m going to want and we need to work out how to get it.  I have no idea what he is talking about.”

“Me neither.  Well, call him back and see what he wants and if I hear from Shannon I will let you know.”

“Yeah, I’ll call him tomorrow, I need to sleep this off.  I love you and quit worrying – I know you are probably stressing already about how this is going to work – just stop and enjoy it, okay?”

She had to smile, he knew her so well already and it was scary, ‘Okay, I won’t, at least not yet.  I love you, too.  Now go to bed and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” As Daisy disconnected the call she killed the ignition on her car and walked up the path to her house.  Once inside you dropped her bags and went into the bedroom and collapsed.

~ * ~

Daisy rushed around the house to get ready for work; she wasn't actually late by any stretch but she had been quite hesitant to get out of bed when the alarm went off.  She was worn out from her trip to Vegas and she expected part of that was because she made the entire trip home with a hangover.  Her headache had finally subsided but she did not have a restful sleep.  She knew that was because she spent three nights snuggled in bed with Chris and last night she had to sleep alone.  She did not like that feeling and she knew that was going to be the side effect of spending the weekend with him.  She had quickly showered and dressed and made a cup of coffee, making the decision to put on her makeup in the store once she was fully awake and functioning.  Her makeup bag was still in her purse so she figured she was set.

Once she got to the store, she realized that Kimberly had unloaded the inventory that had been delivered on Friday and steamed the dresses and put them into rotation.  She had even updated the books and the files for her.  Not only that, she had sold gowns to the two appointments from Saturday and left detailed notes about the orders and the measurements.  Daisy would give her a call later today to thank her for all of her help and for keeping everything running smoothly.  She had been worried she would have so much to deal with when she came in and in reality, the store operated just fine without her.  While she appreciated that it was also a gut check to realize she wasn't even needed in her own store.

She was working on her books and banking records when she realized it was nearing time for the store to open.  It would be a good idea to put on her "face" so she reached in her purse for her makeup bag.  When she pulled it out, she pulled out a folded piece of paper.  She didn't unfold it, she just set it to the side and opened up the bag and started applying her eyeliner and lipstick and used the jewelry mirror on the counter for assistance.  When she reached back into her bag, she noticed the ring that she had taken off in such haste in the hotel room on Sunday morning.  She pulled it out and began looking at it and her heart sank.  It was a platinum band ring with five diamonds and looked exactly like the ring she saw in the jewelry store with Shannon.  More precisely, the wedding band she saw in the jewelry store when she was with Shannon.  Daisy's hands began to shake and she reached for the folded piece of paper that was on her countertop.

She opened the paper and read the words:

Marriage Certificate

Groom:  Christoper Robert Evans

Bride:  Daisy Ann Proctor

Marriage Date:  Saturday, April 30, 2016. 

 

She couldn’t move and she couldn't breathe.  She held the paper in one hand and the ring in the other and somehow didn't drop either one.  Her shaking became more pronounced and suddenly she heard a deafening scream; unaware that the noise was coming from her own mouth.  It was at that moment that her friend Melody walked by the storefront and heard her friend's scream and came running in.

"Daisy, are you hurt?  What's wrong?"  Daisy just stared at her and waved the piece of paper at her; she couldn't speak.  Melody took the paper and began reading it and then broke out into an all-out belly laugh.  "Oh my God, you married him?  You don't remember doing it do you?"  Daisy shook her head in reply and held out the ring for her friend to look at.  Melody took the ring and inspected it and then placed it on Daisy's left hand, "It is gorgeous and it fits beautifully and Oh my God you are married to a superhero!  Your mother will have a kiniption when she finds out."

"Melody, I don't remember getting married and I’m going to guess he doesn't either.  I have a husband, holy shit, I have a husband....this can't be real...we had to be drunk and if we were drunk this could be annulled, right?"

"I think you need to call him and talk to him, are you sure he doesn't remember?"

"I spoke to him last night and he never mentioned it.  You would think if he remembered he would have called me his wife or would have referenced us getting married, right?  I mean, come on, he would have had to have remembered."

"Oh this is glorious, can I please sit here and listen when you call him?  I need to hear this so I can tell your kids how mommy and daddy realized they were married."

"There won't be kids, Melody.  I'm not going to stay married to him...this can't happen,"  Daisy was insistent.

"Did you have sex before you came home and after you got married?"

"I don't know, I don't remember getting married.  I know I woke up naked," Daisy stopped for a second, thinking about what she just said, "Shit, TMI Melody you don't need to know that."

"You consummated your marriage so you are out of luck, sister.  It is official and done and over and you are Mrs. Evans.  Daisy Ann Evans has a nice ring to it.  And speaking of rings, that one is gorgeous!"

Daisy reached for her phone, she knew it was early in California but she didn't care, she needed to talk to Chris.  She dialed his number, no answer.   

She dialed it again, no answer.  

She texted him, no response.  

This was ridiculous and she couldn't take it any longer.  She dialed the phone again and waited for an answer, nothing.   As she was dialing a second time, the phone rang in her hand and she immediately picked it up, "Scott, where the hell is your brother?"

"Well good morning little Miss Daisy, I'm fine, thanks for asking and how are you?"

"Hi, Scott, where in the sam hell is Chris?"

"I don't know doll I'm not babysitting him this week.  Where's the fire?"

"I've tried calling him and texting him and he isn't answering and I need him, I need to talk to him right now," her voice was breaking and she was having trouble maintaining her composure.

"What's wrong muffin, is there a bun in the oven you need to tell him about?"  Scott was ignoring her meltdown and wanted to keep pushing her buttons.

"No, I'm not pregnant Scott but I'm fucking married!"

This caught Scott's attention, "What?  Can you say that again?"

"Your brother and I are married!!!  At least, that is what this marriage certificate in my hand says."

"Oh shit!  I'll head over to his house right now, calm down and I'll find him.  And don't worry, I won't tell him the news, I'll let you break that joyful news to him,"  Scott hung up the phone and took out to find his brother

Daisy disconnected from Scott and began to pace the store, she was so lucky that Monday was a slow day for customers.  Melody had not left her spot on the chair near the counter, she was watching Daisy's meltdown like it was a telenovela and the only thing she was missing was popcorn.  Daisy turned and glared at her, "Are you enjoying this?  Don't you have a job to go to?"

Melody just smiled, "I have people to run my cafe and I am here to support you, my best friend."

Daisy just returned the glare and began pacing again.  Two steps in the phone rang and she picked it up before the first ring completed, "Where've you been?"

"On the phone with Zach so I couldn't take your call.  Where are you right now?"

"At work, why?"

"Daisy, we need to talk," his voice was grave and flat.

"You're damn right we need to talk, did you know we got married?"

"Shit, how did you find out?"

"I have the marriage certificate in my hand.  Wait, you knew?"

"Remember I told you last night that Zach wanted to talk to me?  Yeah, well it seems he went with us when we got married.  Well, he and Shannon went with us and Zach videotaped it on his cell phone."

"Oh my God, our wedding is on cell phone video?  Oh, shit!"

"Yeah, it gets worse.  Zach intends to sell the video to TMZ and wants to know if I am willing to pay more than the tabloids will to keep it quiet."

That was the final straw for Daisy, she collapsed to the floor. Melody rushed to her side to check on her and picked up the phone, "Chris this is Melody, I'm Daisy's best friend, she just passed out.  I"m not sure what you just told her but it was evidently too much."

"Is she okay?  Please tell me she is okay," Chris pleaded.

"She’ll be fine, she didn't hit her head or anything but I think she is a little overwhelmed.  Look, I'm going to hang up and get her revived and calmed down and then you two can talk later.  For what it's worth, congratulations."  Melody didn't wait to hear what he had to say in response, she just hit end on the call and tried to get Daisy to wake up.

 


	22. Waking Up

Melody hung up the phone and focused on trying to get Daisy to wake up; the girl was out cold, and Melody was a little concerned.  After a few minutes of slapping on her cheeks and shaking her shoulders, Daisy’s eyes started to flutter.  She came to fully and sat up, trying to get her bearings and digest everything that just happened.  It took her a minute to realize she was on the floor of her shop.

“Why am I on the floor, Mel?”

“You passed out, Chris said something on the phone and your eyes rolled back in your head, and you were on the ground.  What did he say?”

“I can’t talk about it,” Daisy scurried to her feet and began shoving her things back in her purse.  She didn’t remove the ring from her finger.  “I can’t think, this is too much.”

Melody grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her movements, “Daisy, stop and talk to me.  Did Chris know what happened?”

She nodded, “Zach called him, that is why he didn’t answer when I called him earlier, he was on the phone.”

“Ok, so you had someone to witness your wedding, that’s good.  Can he advise if you two were drunk or sober when you did this?”

“He has it on video,” Daisy quietly announced, “He’s threatening to sell it to the tabloids.”

Melody’s hand flew to her mouth, now she understood why Daisy passed out.  This would be awful for both of them.  As she tried to think of what to say next, Daisy’s phone began to ring.  The caller ID showed that it was Chris calling back, Daisy lunged for the phone and quickly answered it.  She then took off to her office and slammed the door, leaving Melody behind to watch the empty store.

“Are you alright, Melody said you passed out,” there was panic in his voice as he spoke.

“Yeah, I'm okay.  I’m just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.  Tabloids, Chris?  Your friend is trying to extort money from you?”

“Well, you passed out before I could tell you that he was kidding about the selling it to a tabloid.  But he really does have the ceremony on video,” his voice was soft, and he spoke with reverence regarding their wedding.  He didn’t sound regretful, and Daisy took notice of this.

“When did we do this and exactly how drunk were we?”

“Amazingly, we weren’t that drunk.  Based on the information from Zach and the timestamp on the phone, we left their ceremony and went up to the bar and had a few drinks.  Evidently, they commented on how we were perfect for one another and we were already acting like a married couple so we should just do it.”

“Oh my God, Chris, I don’t remember this at all.”

“Yeah, me neither.  But Zach ended up letting it out that I bought the ring, the one that you liked and we went back downstairs and got married.  Went back upstairs for a few more drinks and then went to the nightclub.  So all the champagne and all the dancing at the club were as husband and wife.”

Daisy turned and grabbed her office trash can and began to dry heave.  Chris felt the same way, and he was trying his best not to get sick on his end of the line.  He was not sorry he was married, he just wished he could remember it.

When she was able to pull herself together she finally spoke, “We need to get this annulled, isn’t there a grace period or something?  Aren’t you supposed to get your marriage license first?”

“Yeah, I checked into that already.  Seems when you get married without having a license first, you have 24-hours to annul the marriage and keep the documents from being filed and becoming valid.  We got married on Saturday night which meant that they had to be pulled by 8 am on Monday morning, the first business day.   We missed the deadline, so we are legally married.”

Chris could hear a loud thud on the other end of the line, and he waited a minute to see if Daisy said anything.  When she didn’t, he began to worry that she had passed out again, “Daisy, are you okay?”

“Yeah, that was just me pounding my head on the desk.”

“Look, I’ll get on the first flight out there, and we can discuss this in person.  I don’t think we need to have this conversation over the phone.”

“There is no need for a discussion, Chris.  We need to annul this marriage right away – we can’t be married.”

Chris felt like he had been kicked in the gut.  He hadn’t expected this reaction.  He knew it wasn’t the ideal wedding she had probably dreamed of, but he didn’t expect her to be so adamant about ending it.  The two of them had said they loved one another, and the relationship had been going well.  And the sex?  Well, the sex was fantastic, and he was happier with her than he had been in years.

“Chris, I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But think about it, we just can’t do this yet.  I’m not saying we can never do it, but right now, right now it is not an option.”

He said nothing, waiting to see if she said anything else before he spoke.  When it was evident that she was finished, he broke the silence, “I do think we need to discuss this even if we are doing an annulment or divorce, there are things to consider.  I’ve got to wrap up a few things and then I am flying out to see you, and you are not going to keep me from doing that Daisy.  For the time being, I’m your husband, and you have to listen to me.”

Daisy let out a huff and hung up on him.  She wanted to hurl her phone across the room, but she didn’t want to have to worry about the hassle of replacing this one.  She stood up, took a deep breath and walked out of the office and back into the store.  Her blood ran cold when she noticed her mother talking to Melody.  She reached down and quickly removed the wedding band and slipped it into her pants pocket and began walking in their direction.

“Well, there you are, Daisy,” Martha sneered as her daughter approached, “You do realize that Melody doesn’t work here, right?  I mean really dear she has her own business to run.”

“I know, mother.  Melody was kind enough to keep watch while I had to deal with an urgent call.  She knows I owe her.”

Melody was trying to stifle a laugh, she knew how complicated the relationship was between Martha and Daisy and could only imagine how that would multiply when the marriage bomb was dropped.  “I’m going to head out Daisy, is everything okay?  Do you need me to stop by later?”

“No resolution just yet but soon, I hope.  How about coming over for dinner tonight, I might need a drink or two.”

“Sounds good, I’ll set aside some of today’s lasagna and bring it over for dinner.  Can you handle the wine and salad?”

“Sure thing, thanks!” 

Melody gave Daisy a hug and then turned and left the store.  Martha watched the two of them carefully and could tell they were hiding something, but she just wasn’t sure what it was.  She carefully looked back over at her daughter, “What was that all about?”

“What?  Melody and I just need to catch up on a few things, that’s all.  No need to be suspicious.”

“Daisy, I can tell you are hiding something.  Does this have to do with that ‘relationship’ you are having with that actor?”

“Mother, I don’t really want to talk about Chris with you.” 

Martha walked over to the counter and put her purse down and started to turn around to face her daughter when something caught her eye on the counter.  Daisy noticed it at the same time but could not reach the paper quick enough, Martha picked it up and began to read the marriage certificate.

Her eyes widened, and she reached for the stool to take a seat.  Daisy was afraid she was going to have a heart attack.  “Let me explain.”

Martha waved her hands at her daughter as if to warn her to stop talking.  She was trying desperately to calm her breathing and to bring her blood pressure down.  When she felt as if she was ready, Martha stood up and looked at her daughter with steely eyes,

Daisy knew that she was in for a lecture from her mother.  She tried to prepare herself for what was about to come, the disappointment over her poor life decisions and her lack of respect for herself and for her family.  The fact that she misuses her talent and God given abilities to run a small bridal shop versus finishing off business school and becoming the success that she was destined to be.  She had heard this speech so many times over the years that she had it memorized in her head.

“Daisy, I’m sure you think you know what I’m going to say, but I might surprise you.  You know I don’t want you to be alone your entire life.  I always wanted you to move to the city and be successful where you would have opportunities to meet the right man and live happy ever after.”

“Life is not a fairytale, mother.  There is no Prince Charming in real life.”

“There could be, your father was for me.  You are stuck here, and you are safe, and you have walls around your heart, and I don’t know why.  I was shocked when you announced that you were going to have a relationship with that actor.”

“Shocked? You said it would never work.”

Martha interrupted her daughter, “To be fair I said you weren’t Hollywood material and you aren’t.  That isn’t a bad thing Daisy; you are you, and that is a beautiful thing, but you aren’t what the Hollywood types are going for.”

“You told me that I don’t fit in with those people, and I’m not what he’s looking for, and I can’t expect to date a movie star,” she spat the words at her.

“You hear things in the tone that you want to hear Daisy Ann.  You think I am hateful and hurtful towards you, and that is not what I am saying to you,”  Martha took a step forward and embraced her daughter.  Daisy couldn’t remember the last time she had a hug like this.  “You are a beautiful and talented soul and extraordinary women like you aren’t what the men in Hollywood look for.  They want the love ‘em and leave ‘em type, and that is not my girl.”

She released Daisy and stepped back to look at her in the eyes.  She could tell her daughter was confused, she patted her on the cheek and then went back to her seat next to the counter.

“Daisy, you live in a small town, and you don’t want to leave here.  How are you going to date a big city man and live a life outside of these four walls?  You need to branch out, but you won’t, and you will only set yourself up for heartache.  This man could be your Prince Charming, heaven knows he has swept you off your feet and has evidently made you do things  you wouldn’t normally do.”

“So, you aren’t mad at me and yelling at me for getting married?”

“Oh, I think you’re a damned fool, and I’m going to guess there was alcohol involved.  Tell me this man bought you a ring!”  Daisy reached into her pocket and pulled out the wedding band and handed it to her mother.  “Well, it sure is a beautiful ring.  You should keep it on so it doesn’t get lost.”

“I can’t wear it – I’m ashamed of the whole thing, I need to call Violet and see about getting it annulled or getting divorced, something.”

“Well, before you do, you need to tell your father that you’re married, and it might be nice if we got to meet our son-in-law,” Martha gathered her bag and started to head for the door.

“You’re not listening to me, I’m not staying married, I need to end this.”

“Keep telling yourself that Daisy but I want to meet my son-in-law before you do anything, do you hear me?”

“Why did you even come into town today?”

“I don’t remember now, Daisy.  But the next time I talk to you there better be a timeframe for when Chris will be here.”


	23. Facing Reality

Daisy sat on the stool behind the counter and put her head in her hands.  She could not comprehend what she had done in her life to deserve this – suddenly married to one of the hottest men on the planet and trying to find a way to divorce him and her mother being supportive of her opening her heart and giving the marriage a chance.  She was pretty sure she was living in an alternate universe, or she was having one hell of a nightmare.  Her phone chimed to indicate she had a message, but she was not about to look at it; she was pretty sure it was Chris, and she wasn’t in the mood.

She gave herself some time to dwell on what was happening and then tried to compartmentalize it to get through her day.   There were wedding gowns to order and invitations that she needed to follow up on.  Her business didn’t stop because she ran off and got married.  She had a few customers come in but, overall, it was a slow day.

Melody stopped in and asked what time she should show up for dinner, and Daisy told her 7 pm.  It was now 5:30 and Daisy was about to make a last minute stop at the grocery and then head home.  As she was getting back in her car, the phone chimed again, yet another text message for her to ignore.  This was the fourth one on the day, and she knew he was now just doing what he could to mess with her. 

She got in the house, changed her clothes and was waiting on Melody when this time the phone rang.  She figured she would answer it and just tell him to leave her alone once and for all.  The problem was, this marriage was a nightmare, but Chris was not.  She still had feelings for him and could admit she still loved him.  It was just not the ideal time to be married to the guy.  He just finished a world press tour, his movie is about to open in the US, and he has personal appearances scheduled for the summer.

“Hello,” she said, somewhat exasperated as she answered the call.

“Hello wife, how are you?  I see you have already taken to ignoring me when I try to reach you,” Chris was almost gleeful as he spoke.

“Quit calling me your wife!”

“Why?  We are married, remember?  I have the video to prove it, do you want to see it?  The quality is actually excellent, I don’t know what kind of phone he had.”

“Oh, Chris, come on.  You sound like you are actually enjoying this,”  Daisy opened the front door to let Melody in while she continued her conversation, “I am glad you can find the humor in this situation because I am freaking out.”

She listened for a minute, but he didn’t respond.  The line was quiet, and she checked her phone to see if he had actually hung up, but he hadn’t.  She didn’t understand why he was silent and then she wondered if he was doing it to mess with her even more, which of course he most likely was.

“Chris, why aren’t you freaking out?  I mean we fucked in a nightclub, and you freaked out because people could have seen us but now you are married, and the entire fandom could find out, and you are calm.  Hell, you even seem to be enjoying it, you are perverse!”

“Daisy, baby, getting worked up and freaking out over this isn’t going to help.  You are right, this could get out.  But Zach isn’t saying anything, and neither is Shannon.  There is always the possibility that someone in the clerk’s office in Vegas could leak it, and if they do, we deal with it.  But I am not going to freak out about it, you are doing that enough for both of us.”

“Oh my God, you are infuriating Evans!”

“Yeah, I know but you love me for it.  So, look I have a few days where I can sneak off and come out there, and I needed to know what your schedule looks like so I can make the arrangements.”

“No, you are not coming out here.  I am going to call a friend of mine, she’s an attorney who handles divorces, and I’m going to have her draw up papers.  We will have this over with soon, no need to make a trip.”

“Well, come on, don’t you think we need to talk about it?  I mean, before you throw in the towel on our marriage shouldn’t we even consider counseling?”  He was having a hard time suppressing his smile.

“I’m hanging up on you, Melody is here, and I am going to drink, and I’m not talking to you the rest of the night.”

“Be careful, you know what happened the last time you drank?  I don’t want to have to worry about you marrying someone else tonight.”

She let out a frustrated groan and disconnected the call; she was almost positive she heard him laughing as she did so.  Daisy turned and looked at Melody, who was standing in the kitchen holding back a laugh of her own.  “What?  That man is impossible, do you know what he said?”

“I don’t know what he said but what is this about the two of you fucking in a nightclub?”

“Oh hell, I’m not drunk enough to tell you about that yet,”  Daisy said as she walked over and started to pour a glass of wine.  She quickly took a big drink and then poured some more.  “He told me to be careful drinking because he didn’t want me to go off and marry someone else tonight.  Where in the hell does he get off saying something like that?”

She took another long drink, and Melody had to wipe the tears from her eyes because she was laughing so hard.  “Oh Daisy, he sounds nothing like what I actually anticipated; I have to admit he sounds quite charming.”

“Oh yeah, he is a charming one alright,”  she walked in and plopped in the oversized chair in her living room.  Finding a way to get comfortable without spilling her glass of wine.  “The problem is Mel, I love him.  God help me I do.  He is truly charming and warm and wonderful.”

“Ok, so why is this a problem?  I guess I don’t see why being married to him is such a bad thing.”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because he is one of the biggest superheroes in the movies.  He is unfazed by the idea that we are married, genuinely unfazed.  I actually think he likes it…he is enjoying giving me crap about the fact that I’m freaking out about it.”

“Daisy, do you think that you are freaking out because of who he is or the fact that you actually got married when you figured it would never happen to you?  Is this because of him or because of you?”

She didn’t answer, she just drank her wine and stared into the glass.  The problem was she didn’t know if her friend might actually have a point. 

~ * ~

Daisy stared at the ceiling and watched the rotation of the ceiling fan blades.  She had not slept well last night; she had stayed up late talking about what had happened in Vegas with Melody.  She had spilled everything – her first night with Chris to the incident in the nightclub.  She even detailed the regret afterward and how she was confident that she had messed up the entire relationship with him.  She told Melody about the shoes and how he gave her the Louboutin pumps she saw in the window, and she tried to decline to take them but secretly was ecstatic that he bought them.  Then Melody wanted the details about the wedding, the one thing that Daisy really couldn’t talk about.

She tried to recount what Chris told her; the timeline as presented by Zach and the cellphone video. 

“Do you want to see the video?”  Melody had asked.

Daisy didn’t have an answer then, and she didn’t have an answer for that now.  Her head said no that it wouldn’t matter and wouldn’t influence the decision that needed to be made regarding the ending of the marriage.  However, her heart wanted to see it.  Her heart wanted to know if they weren’t drunk, what did they say to one another?  Did they look lovingly and longingly into each other’s eye when they spoke?  Was the kiss dynamic and passionate or was it chaste?

Would a video show that the two of them looking like they were two people who knew what they were doing and were in love when they were doing it – would that make her want to stay married and give up the ghost on the idea of getting divorced?

Daisy swung her legs off of the bed and padded off to the bathroom to start getting ready for work.  She began mentally cataloging her day and what she needed to get done.  She needed to call Violet, her friend from high school who now worked in the city as a lawyer.  She didn’t see her as much as she saw her friends that were in town but they chatted online and talked via phone and text regularly.  Violet would know what to do and could help give the direction she needed regarding divorce or annulment and how quickly she could get it resolved.

As Daisy made her coffee, she fired off an email to Violet asking her to give her a call when she had time.  Telling her this would be a need for professional services but she wanted a consultation first.  As she was heading out to the car, her phone rang and to her surprise, it was Violet, already returning her call.

“Good Morning, Violet, I honestly didn’t expect you to call me so quickly.”

“I had some time before a day packed with dispositions and client meetings, I figured I might as well call you now when I had a window of opportunity.  So, what is going on?” 

“I need to know the steps to get an annulment or whether I should just get a divorce.  Which way will be quickest?”

“You need a divorce?  When exactly did you get married?  I thought it had only been a couple of days since we last talked to one another?  I’ve been busy but damn I didn’t realize I had lost that much time.”

“It has only been a few days, you’re right.  I went to Vegas last weekend with this guy that I’ve been seeing and it appears we got married.”

“Hold on, so you have been dating someone you didn’t tell me about, and you ran off to Vegas with him for the weekend, and you got married to him and didn’t realize it?  Exactly how does one do this, Daisy?”

“Fine, I met this guy, and we have had a relationship, long distance for a few weeks.  He has been out of the country, and when he got back, he thought we should take a trip.  So we went to Vegas for the weekend, I left last Thursday.  On Monday, when I was unpacking a few things, I found a marriage certificate.  We evidently got married on Saturday night.”

“And why didn’t you notice this on Sunday?”

“We were evidently hungover, and I woke up two hours before my plane was supposed to leave.  I woke up and hurried to dress and gather my stuff to leave for the airport and didn’t know.”

“And you didn’t get a license prior the marriage so you had 24 hours to stop it from being filed and that would have been by 8 am Monday since the wedding was on Saturday.  I am taking you missed the deadline because the two of you were unaware that you actually had a marriage filing to stop, correct?”

“Yeah and we have an extra wrinkle in this whole situation.  I need to dissolve the marriage quietly because I married someone famous.”

“Well of course you did, Daisy because that is what everyone does when they marry someone by mistake.  Who is this famous guy?”

“Chris Evans.”

“Wait, Chris Evans?  You need to divorce Chris Evans?  As in Captain America Chris Evans?  Or the ginger Chris Evans who is hosting the revamped Top Gear?  Because the ginger one is…well, he is….eww.”

“The Captain America Chris Evans, Violet.”

“Why in the hell would you divorce him if you were able to get him to marry you?  Daisy have you had your head examined?”

“Violet, come on, this is serious.  I’m really trying to get this whole thing resolved.”

Violet wanted to continue to give Daisy some grief about this, but she could tell that her friend was actually quite upset.  She needed some additional detail but felt that she needed to give Daisy some time before she tried to get all of the facts.  “I’m taking it that you are just want to dissolve this quickly, and you aren’t asking for money or property, right?”

“Oh God, Violet I don’t want his money!  This isn’t about money – I’m not like that.”

“I know you aren’t, but I just needed to make that clear.  I tell you what I’ll do, I will work up some preliminary documents and then you and I can set a meeting to go over some specific information and finalize them before we send them to him for signature.  I need to do a little research on whether we can go down the annulment route or if we should just do a divorce – I want to get you the fastest resolution.”


	24. Talking to Dad

Daisy got into the shop and tried to push her conversation with Violet out of her mind.  She had let Chris invade her brain, and she could not concentrate on anything other than him.  This was dangerous since she was a business owner and she had things she had to attend to.  As she walked into the shop, she put her cell phone on silent so that she wouldn’t be distracted and could focus on the duties of the store. 

She tried to keep herself busy, rearranging stock and moving the displays in the shop window.  She had a few deliveries come in so she was able to steam the dresses and put them into rotation.  She had a few of her clients come in and pick up their invitation or save the date orders and even had a few calls to set up appointments to pick out dresses.  She also made a call to Kimberly, she figured that since she was going to be going through all of this with Chris, she would need help in the store.  She knew it would be tight on her budget but at least she could keep the store open versus closing when issues would arise.  He was going to be a strain on her pocketbook in more ways than one.  She was afraid to ask Violet how much getting out of this marriage was going to cost her.

Daisy had kept herself busy enough that she didn’t even realize it was time to close up the store for the day.  Before leaving, she called her parents to see if they were busy and if she could stop by.  She was taking what her mother had said to heart and knew she needed to tell her dad about her marriage.  He would not be happy about it, but she needed to face the music and get it over with.  Of course, they were thrilled with the idea that their daughter wanted to come over and offered to cook her dinner.  She hung up the phone, locked up the shop and drove out to the orchard.  She had not checked her cell phone for calls or messages, but she was fairly sure she had a few waiting.

The drive to the orchard provided Daisy with ample opportunity to rehearse her speech.  How she would tell him, how she would apologize for disappointing him, and how she was working to get out of it.  She knew her mother would start in on the “when can I meet my son-in-law” line of questions but felt fairly confident that her dad would not go down that path.  She hoped her dad would actually help quell the line of questioning from her mother and put some of the issues to rest.  She also didn’t think he would yell, her mother was the yelling and lecturing type, not her dad.  So he would silently pass judgment on her, which would probably be harder to handle than what she was used to from her mother.

But then again, her mother had turned everything on its ear when she didn’t lecture and instead told Daisy to give this boy a chance.  Told Daisy to open her heart and to not spend her life alone; if her mother could change her tune it could mean that her dad could as well.  Damn, she wasn’t prepared if that happened.

She pulled up in front of the farmhouse and turned off the ignition.  She sat in the car for a few moments, waiting to gather her thoughts and to gain some nerve.  Finally, she flung open the car door and began the walk up the path and the stairs.  As she reached the porch, the door opened, and her mother stood there with a glass of wine in her hand.

“I guess you might need this,” she said as she handed the glass to Daisy, “I didn’t tell him a thing.  I am leaving it all up to you, and I don’t think he suspects that anything is up.”

Daisy just looked at her mother with a confused look, “Why are you so nice to me?”

“You’re my daughter, dear, I love you, and I am always nice to you.”

Daisy took the glass and downed the wine in almost one gulp, “I need more,” she responded and walked straight into the kitchen.

Thomas Proctor was finishing getting dinner ready, he turned to greet his daughter and then turned his attention back to his gravy. Daisy offered to help but he told her to just sit and enjoy her wine, she wasn’t about to argue.  When dinner was ready, he plated everything up and brought it to the table.  She loved the fact that her dad could cook; tonight was homemade fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.  The only thing her mother made for the dinner was the bread, she was a whiz with biscuit dough.

As if on cue, when dinner was finished, Thomas looked at his daughter and started the conversation that she had been dreading, “What is wrong Daisy?”

“What makes you think something is wrong?” She responded as she finished off her third glass of wine and began to pour her fourth.

“Well, you’re drinking wine like it is going out of style.  You have practically polished off that bottle by yourself, so something is bothering you.  And your mother, well she isn’t saying a word so it means she already knows something and that in itself scares me.”

Daisy took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, “You know I went to Las Vegas with Chris, right?”

“Oh, Daisy,” her father began to shake his head, “You married him didn’t you?”

Martha elected to use this opportunity to chime in, “See Daisy, you didn’t even have to tell him, he figured it out on his own.”

Thomas pushed himself back from the table and slowly walked into the kitchen.  She couldn’t see what he was doing, but she heard him rifling through the cabinets, and she heard the clinking of glass.  A moment later he returned to the table with a bottle of whiskey and a glass; this was serious.  Daisy knew her dad was not a heavy drinker, and if he was really upset, the whiskey came out, usually just a glass here or there.  But he sat down with the bottle, this was going to be a long night.

He poured himself a drink, neat, and swallowed it in one long drink.  He quickly poured another and drank it in the same manner.  Once he sat the glass down, he looked at her and began to ask his questions.  “Was this the plan all along when you went out there?  I mean did you anticipate that you were going to marry this man?”

“No, not at all.  This weekend was supposed to be about us getting to know each other better and moving our relationship forward but not this far forward.”

“So, you went out for a tryst and ended up getting married.  Seems like a logical leap.”

“Thomas!  You make that sound so dirty,” Martha scolded.

“Martha, your daughter ran off to Las Vegas with a man she had been ‘dating’ for a few weeks via text message and phone call.  What do you think she was going to be doing with him in Vegas?  They certainly were not going to meet up to play checkers and watch TV,”  his voice was firm but laced with sarcasm.

“Dad it wasn’t like that, things happened, but we didn’t go out there thinking that all of that would happen.”

“Then you are more naïve than I expected, Daisy.  I always figured you were a smart young woman with a good head on your shoulders, and I have to say that this is by far the dumbest thing you have ever done in your life.  Were you drunk when you did this?”

“Evidently not,” she muttered.

His eyes widened, “Evidently?  Oh my, please elaborate for your mother and me.”

“I don’t recall getting married, we did drink quite a bit that night as we were standing up for his friend who was getting married.  But there is a video of our…” she trailed off.

“Ceremony,” her mother offered, with a sly grin.

“Yeah,” Daisy continued, “Ceremony and we were not yet intoxicated.  Supposedly we did all of our heavy drinking afterward, and that is why neither of us remembered.  On Sunday morning, I woke up late, and I grabbed all of my stuff and ran out of the hotel room to catch my plane.  I took off my jewelry before I left the hotel and took the ring off and didn’t register what I had removed.”

“When did you realize what you had done?”  Her father asked, his tone beginning to soften.  Daisy was wondering if it was the whiskey or if his attitude had changed because he was starting to feel sorry for her.

“Monday, in the store, I was putting my makeup on in the store right before opening and the marriage certificate was in my purse.  I immediately freaked out and called Chris.  He had talked to Zach, his friend who was with us, and evidently our videographer, so he knew about it at the same time I did.”

“And what does he think about this?”

Daisy took a swig from her wine glass, “He is not upset by it at all.  In fact, he seems to enjoy calling me his wife and does not seem the least bit concerned about getting this taken care of.  I think he wants to stay married.”

“And what do you want?”

“I called Violet Morgan this morning, and we are looking into whether I am going to do an annulment or a divorce.  Whichever way will end the marriage the quickest is the path we will go down. I want to get this over with, and I want to try to keep it as quiet as possible so it doesn’t impact him negatively.”

“He obviously loves you, Daisy.  Do you love him?” Her dad asked, point blank.

She took a minute to formulate her answer and then quietly answered, “ Yeah, I have to admit that I do.”

“Then why in the hell are you trying to get out of it?”  Her dad asked somewhat annoyed.

“Well, because,” she started to say but stopped.

“Please tell me that you have a better reason than that Daisy Ann,” her mother retorted.

“I think it is best to end the marriage because we haven’t known each other very long, and obviously we didn’t know what we were doing.”

“You weren’t drunk Daisy – if you have video evidence that proves you were not of diminished capacity you can’t use that as your reason.  You married the man, you need to stand up to your responsibility.  If you love the man, and he loves you, I don’t see the problem.”

Daisy stared at her dad as she could not believe what he was saying.  She was sure when he began speaking earlier in the evening he was going to back her in her attempts to end the marriage and to put this behind her.  Now he was saying she needed to stand up to her responsibility; so he wanted her to stay married.  She was sure it was the whiskey talking.  There was no way her dad really meant that.  And what in the hell happened to her parents that the two of them were agreeing on this subject and that both of them were against her?  She normally had, at least, one of them on her side.

“Wait, so the two of you want me to stay married?  Do I hear you right?”

“I think your father and I both believe that you should give it a chance – it seems ridiculous that you admit to being in love with the man, yet you are clamoring to find a way to get out of this marriage.  Don’t you think you will end up right back in this situation later?”

“I don’t know, I guess I never thought about it.”

“Well, your mother and I think you need to think about it,” her father said matter of factly.  “Do we get to meet our son in law before you divorce him?”

Daisy stood up, her balance was a bit off due to the multiple glasses of wine, “Mother!  You told him, you swore you wouldn’t, but you told him everything!”

Martha looked down at the table, unable to make eye contact with her.  As Daisy looked at her father, he turned away and began staring at the wall opposite her.  She realized she had been played and that it had all been a set up to make her sweat a little over the entire situation.  Her anger was beginning to boil up inside of her, and she suddenly felt betrayed.  She began to storm down the hallway toward the front door, her mother in pursuit.

“Daisy, you’ve had too much to drink, and you can’t drive home.  You need to sleep it off in your old room or let me take you home, but you cannot drive.”

She let out a loud huff and then gave in, her mother was right, and driving was not a good idea.  Hell, walking up the stairs was not a good idea, but she was going to do it anyway.  She tried, the best she could, to stomp her way up the steps and into her old room where she threw herself on the bed and tried to go to sleep.


	25. Drawing up the Papers

Daisy tossed and turned until she finally fell asleep.  She awoke in the middle of the night and decided that she should go home, after all, she would have to go to work, and there was no way she could go in wearing the same clothes from the day before.  So she snuck down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible and out of the house; it was a little after 4 am when she started the car and pulled out of the drive.  She was lucky that she wasn’t hungover and didn’t have a headache from all the wine she had with dinner.  While she might not be hungover she certainly still had her anger; the anger at her mother for telling her dad about the wedding and the fact that they were both ganging up on her to stay married to Chris.

She realized on the drive home that her phone was still off.  Well, technically the phone was not off, it was just that the volume was all the way down so it activated the do not disturb feature meaning it would not ring or vibrate.  When she pulled into the driveway, she removed the feature, turned up the volume and checked the missed calls and texts.  She had missed 4 calls from Chris, not bad since she had the phone off all day.  She had missed one call from Violet, damn the one call she really needed to have taken.  When she checked her text messages, she had 3 missed texts from Chris and 2 from Scott.  She also had a text that just came in from her father asking if she had arrived home safely since she snuck out of the house.

She sent a quick reply to her dad to let him know she was safe, but she didn’t elaborate and wasn’t overly polite.  She didn’t bother to read the texts from Scott or Chris; figuring she could guess the subject of their messages without reading them.  She would probably read them later and maybe give Scott a call.  The last time she had talked to him, she was freaking out because she realized she was married.  It might be nice just to call him and actually catch up with what was going on in his world.  She would definitely call Violet later, this was something she could not let linger. 

She cursed as she got out of the car and made her way to the door, she had not expected to be coming home in the wee hours of the morning so she had not left the porch light on.  She had to struggle to get the door open, fighting to figure out where the key went.  Once open and inside, she shut the door and locked it and made a mad dash for her room.  She had, at least, two hours to catch some additional sleep and was not going to waste it. 

~ * ~

Daisy was in the middle of a dream when she heard the ringing of her phone, she jolted out of bed and grabbed for it.  It was as she swiped to answer it that she realized it was 7 am, and she had overslept.  She was in such a panic over the time that she did not even pay attention to the caller ID and who was calling.

“Hello,” her voice still heavy with sleep.

“Morning Daisy, did I wake you?  I am so sorry, I thought you would have been up.  I can call you later.”

Daisy sat up straight, “Violet!  Sorry, no, I just haven’t had a chance to use my voice yet this morning so I still sound kind of froggy.  I’m really sorry I missed your call yesterday, I was so busy in the store, and then I had dinner with my parents.  I was going to give you a call a little later today.”

“Oh, no worries.  I knew I was calling you late yesterday, and there was a chance I wouldn’t get you,”  Violet took a moment before continuing.  “Would it be alright if I stopped by the store to meet with you today?  I know that the store isn’t the most private but I also know it will be hard for you to come to my office.  I just want to go over some of the specifics of your situation and talk about how we can proceed.  And I have the details on the different options, such as annulment or divorce.”

“Um, yeah, meeting at the store would be okay.  The shop shouldn’t be that busy today so we could have some quiet time.  Is there a particular time you were thinking of stopping by?

“Well, I have a meeting that starts in about an hour and will last for about two, then I will head out your way.  I’ve got a clear calendar this afternoon so I am all yours.”

“Oh, wow…um…okay, if you are sure that won’t cause a problem with your other clients.”

“No, it won’t be an issue and to be honest, I can use a break from the office.  Plus, you are a client, so I am making time for you, it is just a rare opportunity for me to make a house call.”  Violet took a moment to let her words hang in the air before she continued, “Daisy, I just need to ask this before I drive out there.  Have you actually given this a lot of thought?  I mean you found out on Monday that you were married, and you called me right away.  Is there any chance that a relationship would work between the two of you?  Are you sure this is the path you want to go down?”

Daisy didn’t answer right away, her heart and her head were again arguing over this.  Finally, in a soft whisper, she said, “I’m sure.”

“Okay, forgive me but I had to ask.  This is never an easy process no matter the circumstances and I needed to be sure you were ready and willing to go through with it all.”

“I feel like I am prepared for this, but I am not so sure that Chris is.  He doesn’t want to talk about it and so I try to avoid talking to him at all.  This isn’t going to be easy, and I can only hope I am strong enough to get through it.”

“What do your parents say about it?  Are they supporting you?”

“No, they want me to stay married,” she admitted.

“Oh, I see.  Well, we can discuss this in detail when I get there.” 

The phone call concluded, and Daisy began to frantically get ready, she took a quick shower and then sped into town to open the shop.  She was so thankful that none of the deputies were on patrol this morning because she knew that she could not afford to waste time getting a ticket.  Today was the first time in the last three years that the shop opened at the time posted on the door and not a minute before.

Daisy was able to get some of her bookkeeping duties out of the way early.  She didn’t want to be in the middle of doing her books when her lawyer arrived.  In the midst of just doing odds and ends in the shop, Violet Morgan walked in the front door, her arrival announced by the ringing of the butler bell.  Violet was a tall, attractive blonde.  She kept her hair cut to shoulder length, and she wore glasses that framed her face beautifully.  With her height and her commanding walk, she gave you the impression that you did not want to mess with her.  Daisy and Violet had been the best of friends through high school, but when they graduated, Violet had gone away to college.  Daisy had gone nearby, and the two had grown apart.  Daisy had gone farther away to business school and get her MBA, but when she dropped out and came back home, she had a hard time reaching out to her friends right away because she felt like a failure.  Violet, on the other hand, had gone away to college and to law school and vowed not to settle in their small town.

When she graduated law school, Violet was offered a position with a corporate law firm in the city and jumped at the opportunity.  After doing corporate law for a few years, she realized that she hated the hours and the constant travel.  She was asked to handle the divorce for a friend at the law firm and found that not only did she have a knack for it but she could make good money.  Her sharp tongue and quick wit went a lot farther in divorce proceedings than they did in the boardroom, too.  So, she left and started her own firm and had been handling divorces and family law for the last couple of years. 

Violet looked around the shop, taking in everything that Daisy had built.  “Wow, Daisy, this store is great.  Sorry that I spend all my time and effort to tear apart everything you work so hard to put together.”

“Eh, at least, I’m not a dating service.  The women who get divorced can always come back and buy a dress again if they want to give love another chance.”

Just like Daisy had expected, the store was quiet, and she was thankful for that.  Daisy invited Violet back to the counter and offered her one of the stools.  Violet thanked her and took the seat directly across from her, opened her bag and removed a folder, placing it on the counter.  “Ok, I know you were questioning whether it would be faster to do an annulment or a divorce.  So, I looked into it and found that we don’t have to worry about waiting times for either one.  So, we can draw up the papers, whichever one you want to do, have you sign them and send them to him to sign.”

“An annulment means it will be off the records and will be as if we were never married, right?”

“That’s correct. They both do the same thing but if you want to wipe it from your record the annulment is the way to go.  But Daisy, to do that you have to meet several conditions.  I have a list, and we need to discuss these, if you don’t meet all of the stipulations, then we have no choice but to go the route of divorce.”

“Ok, I want to review the list, I am sure there is something that will fit our circumstance.”

“Can I ask why you are so adamant that this goes away and for it to be like it never happened?  You willingly went to Vegas with him, right?  Do you have feelings for him?”

“His fans don’t need to know about this – I am scared right now that someone in the clerk’s office will tip off the tabloids that we got married.  His movie is being released this week, and a lot is riding on this.  He just had an interview where he talked about he has to be careful in his personal life that he doesn’t do something to mess up the façade of Captain America.”

“And you think getting married is something that will ruin the Captain America image?  Exactly how is that?”

“That he ran off to Vegas and married a girl that he didn’t know for very long and only met at the movie premiere for this movie; don’t you think that is something that would tarnish his image?”

“No, I believe that you are overreacting, but that is my high-level view of this.  You ignored my question, though.  Do you have feelings for him?”

Daisy stood up and began to pace behind the counter, “Yeah, I do, and that is why this is hard.  I have been ignoring him and not talking to him, and it is killing me because I am in love with him.  I just don’t want to be married to him right now, this just awful timing.”

“So, you don’t want to stay married in the hopes that your relationship will natural progress to this?”

“No, because we’ve been dating for a month, and I don’t know how long it will take to work to that place, and I can’t keep him tied to me that long and that will just make a divorce harder.  How much will this cost me?  I probably should have asked you that to begin with.”

“Normally, for a no-fault divorce, I charge $800.  Since we are friends, I will do it for half.  Plus, I have to say the situation is unique, and this will be my first celebrity divorce, so this is going to be a little unusual.”

“Violet, he is going to fight it every step, I know it.”

“Ok, I’m prepared if you are.  Let’s look at this list of annulment reasons and see what route we need to go down,” Violet said as she slid the page across the counter. 

Daisy began to read the list of reasons and a smile spread across her face as she saw a reason that caught her eye.  “Violet, you said you would do it for half-price, but I would be willing to pay full price if you would be prepared to do something for me,” Daisy said with a mischevious grin and tiny touch of evil in her eye.

“What exactly do you have in mind?”  Violet had to admit that her interest was piqued.

Daisy outlined what she wanted to do, and Violet had to admit that while it was evil, she thought it was quite hysterical.  Especially since Chris was being quite difficult when it came to discussions about the marriage and how to dissolve it.  She agreed to do it and would have the paperwork drawn up.

“Hold on, Violet you need his address right?”

“Yes, I need to know where to send the papers, and I need to reference it in the document.”

“Ok, hold on a second,” Daisy pulled out her cell phone and began to type out a text message.  Within a moment or two, she had an address to give to Violet.  “Here you go, this is the address for his house in the Hollywood Hills.”

“Where did you get the address?”

“From his brother, Scott.  I told him I needed to send him some stuff, I just didn’t say what.  Scott is a good guy, and I don’t think he would mislead me, at least not yet.  After this packet is delivered, that might change.”

Violet made a few notes in the folder and then closed it and packed up her bag, as she stood she spoke, “I’m going to go back to the office and get these done.  If I can wrap them up in time, I will get them sent out tonight, if not they will go out tomorrow.  I just hope you are ready to deal with his wrath when he gets them.”

 

 


	26. You Are Served

Violet and Daisy talked about the decisions that needed to be made regarding a potential annulment or divorce.  Once Daisy’s mind was made up and the details worked out, Violet was prepared to leave and head back to her office but made the comment that she hoped Daisy was ready to deal with his wrath once he gets the papers.

“I can deal with him, he will just bark, and I can deal with that.”

“You don’t think he will come out here to fight you when he gets them?”  Violet asked, someone skeptical at Daisy’s positive attitude over this entire situation.

“No, he won’t do that, at least, I don’t think so.”

“Ok, well let me know what happens when he gets them,” Violet extended her hand to Daisy, who promptly took it.

“I certainly will and thank you so much for everything.”

Once Violet left the shop, Daisy could not help but want to poke the bear just a little.  She picked up her phone and read the text messages that Chris sent yesterday.  She also listened to his voicemails and then promptly hit redial to call him back.  He answered his phone immediately, it was almost as if he had been anxiously awaiting her call.

“Hey baby, how are you?  I was starting to get a little worried that I hadn’t heard from you.”

“Sorry, I had a busy day yesterday, and I turned the phone off so I could stay focused, and I forgot to turn it back on until earlier today,” she explained; giving him only a partial truth.

“So, how are things at the shop?  Keeping busy?”

“Things are picking up, but not too bad.  How are things out in LA?”

“Good, the international box office numbers are excellent so we are all excited for the US opening this week.  Plus a little nervous you know.”

“Yeah, but you have nothing to worry about,”  Daisy took a minute to work up her courage, “Chris, I had a meeting with my divorce attorney today.”

He was stunned and couldn’t find his voice, he had not actually anticipated those words, at least not yet.  “Oh…well…that wasn’t what I was expecting you to say, Daisy.”

“How can you be surprised, Chris?  I thought you understood my position when we talked on Monday, we need out of this marriage.  Today was my initial consultation, I needed to know the cost and get an idea of the timeframe.”

“So, how much is this going to cost and how long will it take?”

“Well, it seems we can get it over with fairly quickly regardless of whether we do an annulment or a divorce.  There is no waiting period for a separation, and since it will be clean with no fighting over money or property, it can be over with relatively fast.”

“How much is this going to set us back, Daisy?”

“It isn’t going to set us back anything.  It will set me back because I am the one filing, you won’t be responsible for any of it.”

“Daisy that doesn’t seem fair, I should have to pay for half of it since I am responsible for us getting married.  Or at least partly responsible for us getting married.”

“Well, you would have to pay for your own lawyer, so you would have those fees.”

“I don’t think I need my own lawyer, Daisy.  I don’t anticipate you trying to do anything underhanded, right?  I trust you.”

Daisy took a deep breath, he said he trusted her, but she was about to do something that she wouldn’t normally do.  “I would be fair, but if you insist, the cost for everything is going to be $1600.  I am friends with the lawyer, and she said she will give me a discount.”

“Damn, could you not find a less expensive lawyer in your small town?”

“Probably, but Violet isn’t in town, she works in the city.  She is an old friend of mine, and she is quite successful like I said, she will give me a discount, but I haven’t asked for the amount yet.”

“You know, Daisy, you seem so confident in your decision to get rid of me – what did I do wrong?  I mean, I was pretty sure I was doing everything right when you were screaming my name as you climaxed.”

Daisy began to blush, and she was so happy the phone was not on speaker since she had a customer browsing through the store.  “Chris, I have a client in the store, can we continue this conversation later?”

“No, you called me so we need to finish this.  I thought you said that you were in love with me because I know I said that I am in love with you.”

“I do love you, I meant that, and I do mean it.”

“Then don’t divorce me, you realize it makes no sense to tell me you love me one minute, and you don’t want to be married to me the next.”

“Chris, hold on and let me go take care of this client, I am not hanging up but give me a minute,” she set the phone down and walked over to see if the young woman in the store needed any assistance.  When she realized she was just browsing,  she went back and picked up the phone again.  “Chris, are you there?”

“Yeah, Daisy, I’m here,” he said, and she was sure she could hear a smile in his voice.

She began to walk towards the back of the store where she could be a little more discreet on the call but could still watch for customers.  “We haven’t known one another long enough to be married, and you can’t tell me that you really love me enough to say you are ready to spend the rest of your life with me.  If I am going to get married, it is going to be forever, and we haven’t known one another long enough for that type of commitment.  Tell me that you don’t believe that.”

“I see we aren’t going to get anywhere because you have your mind made up already.  I’m going to hang up before you really piss me off, and I say something I might end up regretting later.” 

Chris disconnected the call, and Daisy had to admit she was not expecting that at all.  She was a little put off that he actually hung up, but she didn’t think she really had a right to yell at him.

~ * ~

Chris was sitting in his office at his house, reading a new script when he heard the doorbell.  He jumped up and went to the door, signing for the FedEx envelope and trying to determine what might be delivered.  He looked at the return address, and his heart sank, he had an idea what was in the envelope before he even opened it.

He walked back into the office and sat in the large armchair by the window.  He decided if he was going to read these he didn’t want to be sitting at his desk because he would most likely want to throw something.  He ripped the envelope open and pulled out the thick envelope from the Law Office of Violet Morgan.  He took a deep breath and then opened the large manilla envelope and pulled the thick, bound stack of papers out.

The papers were titled, “Dissolution of Marriage of Christopher Evans and Daisy Proctor via Annulment.”  The words struck him hard, she really wanted to wipe it off of the books and to pretend as if it never happened.  He had searched on the internet, and he knew what the possible options were for annulment, and he was aware that they didn’t really fit into any of the categories.  They were not intoxicated, they have video evidence to prove that point, and he would use it.  They were not related so that was not a viable choice and there was no fraud, and they were not married under duress.  He was curious as to what in the world she was going to try to spring on him.

His eyes glanced across the annulment reason, and his anger began to flare.  He read it again, almost positive he read it incorrectly.  No, it said the same thing the second time he read it.  As he was beginning to get fully enraged, his front door opened and his brother, Scott came in.

“Hey, Chris, where are you?”  Scott announced as he walked in, without hearing a response.  He walked over to the office and saw Chris and could see how red he was turning, knowing this was not good.  “Are you alright, what’s wrong?  You look like you are about to explode.”

“Daisy has filed for an annulment, she wants to end the marriage,” he said soberly.

“Well, that can’t be a shock, right? I mean she told you that is what she was going to do, so why do you look like you are all pissed off?”

“The reason she is using, that is why I am furious, Scott.  She is saying she wants to annul the marriage because, and I quote, ‘The Inability to Consummate Marriage, either spouse was physically incapable of having sexual relations or impotent during the marriage.”

Scott immediately burst into laughter and had to sit down on the floor to keep from falling down. “Oh, shit Chris, I had no idea you had sexual performance issues.”

“I don’t!” He emphatically declared as he jumped up from his chair.  “Damnit, I need to book a flight,” he said as he walked around to his computer and began doing a search on his computer.

“Chris, you can’t just fly out there.”

“Why the hell not?  She is my wife, and I’m going to talk to her about this.  She is not getting away with filing shit like this, Scott.  She wasn’t complaining about my sexual performance on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday so how can she claim this?”

“Are you sure you had sex with her after you were married?  I mean you did tell me that you two were extremely drunk on Saturday night into Sunday.  I mean you were actually hungover when you got home.”

“Trip is booked, I have to pack, flight leaves in a few hours.  I am not letting this go.”  Chris took off for his bedroom to begin packing.  He threw a few things into a bag and then came back into the living room.  “Scott, will you take me to the airport?”

~ * ~

Daisy was handling a delivery in the store when her phone chimed that she had a text message.  When she had the boxes checked in, she looked at her phone and noticed that the text was from Violet.

      “The papers have been delivered…confirmation from FedEx….let me know if you hear from him.”

Daisy took a deep breath, knowing that this was just the beginning.  This was not going to settle well with him, and she was sure he would have some sort of reaction, and she was just waiting for it.  Honestly, she was wondering why he hadn’t called already.

She decided not to dwell on it.  Instead, she decided to throw herself into work and forget about him and about the papers.  There was a chance that someone at the house signed for them, but he had not read them yet.  There was also the chance that he just saw the papers and decided not to read them but just sign them and get it over with.  That chance was slim, but you never know, he hung up on her so that meant he was getting frustrated.

She lost track of time in the quiet of the store so she was startled when she heard the butler bell ring.  She was about to walk around the display to see who walked into the shop when she heard his voice and her blood ran cold.

“Daisy, where in the sam hell are you?”

She didn’t move, she was frozen in place and was hoping she hallucinating.  Surely he didn’t actually fly all the out there after getting the papers this morning.  There is no way he did that, right?

“Daisy, you have to come out at some point, get out here and talk to me.”

She slowly walked out from around the display and found him standing in the middle of the store.  He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt; his hands on his hips and his face flush with anger.  She had to admit he was damn sexy standing there, but she knew he was not happy.  He looked at his watch and then walked over to the door and locked it, pulling down the shade.

“You have no place to go, Daisy, you have to talk to me now,” he said as he walked back toward her.

 


	27. Honey, I'm Home

__

Daisy was not expecting him to come into the shop.  No, she expected him to call and yell at her but didn’t expect him to show up at the store, and she didn’t expect him to look this angry.  She couldn’t speak, her words stuck in her throat.  For all the insistence about ending her marriage to him, he was standing in front of her, and she wanted nothing more than to grab his face and kiss him.  She wanted to rip that t-shirt off of him and despite the large display window, have her way with him on the floor in the middle of the shop.

He took a few steps toward her, his anger not diminishing in the least, “What in the fuck do you think you are doing?”

“What are you doing here, Chris?”  She tried to act innocent, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t going to buy it.

“Don’t play dumb with me, it is beneath you Daisy.  You know damn good and well why I’m here, and I want to know why you did it?”

“I take it you are referencing the annulment papers; you must have received them from my attorney.”

“Oh yeah, Ms. Morgan sent me your papers, got them this morning.  Why do you think I’m here?”

“Well, I believe you know why I did it, I told you that we shouldn’t be married.”

“I know you have a private office, right?”  He asked as he walked up to her.  She nodded and pointed toward the back of the store.  He grabbed her arm and began to walk her toward the office, “We’re going to continue this conversation in private because I don’t want to be on display for the town by doing it in the middle of the store.”

“Chris, you don’t need to manhandle me, you know,” she needed to protest the fact that he was practically dragging her to the back of the store. 

He stopped for a moment and looked at her, concern in his eyes, “Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head, “No, you’re not hurting me but I will go willingly.”

He didn’t listen. Instead, he grabbed her arm again and continued walking her toward her office.

Daisy walked into the small room first with Chris following, she turned to close the door silently behind him.  This is when he immediately turned, pinning her against the door, staring down into her dark chocolate eyes, he didn’t say a word but crushed his lips against hers in a passionate and powerful kiss.  His tongue sweeping across her lips begging for entrance and she immediately gave it.  Her hands flew up to his head, putting her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer.  As he pulled away from her, each of them breathless, the passion in their eyes spoke the words that they could not vocalize.

Immediately his hands went to the hem of her shirt, and he deftly pulled it up and over her head.  He began kissing down her neck while his hands reached around and unclasped her bra, then he gently removed the undergarment from her.  Then without warning, he grabbed her arms and pinned them against the door and began to pay attention to each breast, alternating between flicking her nipple with his tongue, sucking on it or biting it.  She was powerless to what he was doing, and her desire for him was beginning to overtake her.  She was wet with desire and she wanted a release.

Chris knew what he was doing to her, and as he pushed himself into her, she could feel what she was doing to him.  She wanted to speak but she could not will herself to get the words out.

He let go of her hands, and she immediately moved to undo his pants, he watched as she quickly undid the button and unzipped them.  In a quick tug, she pulled his jeans and his boxer briefs down and released his rock hard cock.  Her hands went to it immediately, and she began to stroke it, precum oozing from the tip and helping to lubricate each of her strokes.  His put his head back and began to moan with each stroke.  Finally, unable to steady himself any longer, he had to lean forward and brace himself on the door. 

“Damnit, don’t…stop…fuck…don’t stop.”

Daisy dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth, working him feverishly with both her lips and her hands.  She could tell he was getting harder, and she could see his legs starting to shake.  He was unable to speak, but she could tell by his uneven breathing that he was enjoying her attention.  She had to admit that she was enjoying this as well.  For all of the fighting she had been doing to end this marriage, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.  As much as he was enjoying her tongue working its way up and down his shaft, he was not going to be able to hold on much longer.  He was by no means one who was a quick draw, but this woman had a hold on him.  He had been yearning for her since she left Vegas and his anger toward her over these annulment papers only made his desire stronger.  He would be willing to take his time with her later, pay particular attention to her and her sweet spots, but right now, he needed to fuck.

Daisy was beginning to sense that he was going to cum, and she wasn’t ready for that, she wanted him to suffer in the most delightful way.  She began to slow down; her grip began to loosen, and her mouth worked slower.  It was then that she heard his moans of protest.

“More…Daisy….Oh God, please don’t slow down…please,” he was begging, and she had to smile, knowing she had the right effect. 

Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer, he pulled out of her mouth and pulled her back into a standing position.  She noticed he was erect, his tip purple showing he was more than ready to continue.  In one deft move, he pulled down her black dress pants and lace panties, making her step out of them altogether.  He then pulled her leg up and wrapped it around his waist and lifted her off the ground just a bit; then, maintaining eye contact with her he thrust into her, pushing her hard up against the door.  She let out an audible gasp at the intense amount of pleasure and pain that hit her body at once.  He took a moment before moving, making sure she was adjusted to him being inside her.  Then with an unspoken consent, he continued to move in and out of her.  Never pulling out completely but making sure that each thrust was powerful as if he was making sure she knew who was in control.  She didn’t fight it or give any protest, she loved that he was in control. 

“Do you like this Daisy?”  He grunted out as he thrust and the door began to bang.

She couldn’t answer, she just nodded her head and squeezed her walls around him. 

“Shit!” he exclaimed as she did that, “Fuck, that felt good.”

She began contracting her walls around him to heighten his sensation and hers and within a matter of moments, the two of them were climaxing; hitting them like a bolt of lightening, it was so intense.  With a final thrust, Chris buried his head into her neck and stopped moving.  His legs were shaking, and Daisy’s elbows were on his shoulders and her hands buried in his hair.  Their breathing was ragged, and the sweat was beaded on their bodies.

Chris hadn’t moved his head, but he had to ask, “I didn’t hurt you with you back against the door, did I?”

“No, and if you did, I don’t care,” was her response.

Composed, Chris finally pulled back and gently moved so that Daisy could put her legs down and stand up next to him.  He reached down and pulled up his pants as she walked to put her clothes back on. 

Once they were fully dressed, he walked out of the office and toward the front of the shop where he had placed his bags when he had come in.  Daisy watched, wondering what he was doing.  Suddenly he came walking back toward her with purpose and with something in his hand. 

He got right in front of her and then ripped the papers in half, “Your reasons for an annulment are no longer valid doll.  I can easily say we just consummated our marriage.”

She couldn’t move, and she had to do what she could to suppress a smile.  She couldn’t tell him that she was pretty sure they had consummated their marriage in Vegas.  She also couldn’t tell him that she sent those papers with the express reason of pissing him off and firing a shot across the bow in the battle of this war.

Chris walked over and threw the documents into the trashcan and then moved to pull her close to him. His arms wrapped around her and resting at the small of her back.  He kissed her nose and just smiled while staring at her.

"Why are you smiling so big Mr. Evans?"

"No reason, in particular, Mrs. Evans."

"You do realize that I will file again, right?  While that was fun, it won't make me change my mind."

The smile began to fade from his face, and his eyes began to cloud over.  "So, is there nothing I can do to make you give us a chance?"

"Chris, can you tell me that you truly think that the two of us can work?  We are entirely different people," she wiggled out of his grasp and began to walk away, her lace panties damp with the after effects of their session against the door.

"You didn't argue this much for us dating.  What is really going on?"

"Dating was one thing, it wasn't permanent, and this is.  I have always intended to get married once and for it to be forever."

"And you don't think we can be forever?"

"I don't know...you're an actor and a big-time movie star with a huge fan base."

Chris reached out for her arm and turned her to face him, "No, I'm a guy from Boston who acts in movies and has been in some popular comic books movies."

"Semantics Chris but you know what I mean.  We're different people."

"Ok, fine we are different, but I deserve a chance, Daisy. You should give me that.  Why are you so closed off to this?"  He realized he was still holding her arm and remembered her earlier comment about man-handling.  He let her go and let her arm drop to her side, “Wait, you said you didn’t want to get married.  The bridal shop owner who never wanted to marry.  That is what this is all about, it isn’t me, it is the institution of marriage.”

Daisy said nothing in response to hs questions or comments.  Honestly, she didn’t know how to respond, so she decided it was best to just change the subject entirely, "Where are you staying tonight?  Do you need me to drop you off somewhere?"

He was bothered by the fact that she quickly deflected, but he was not going to pursue it.  "I have a rental car, so I can drive.  And as far as where I’m staying, well, I anticipated that I would be staying with and sleeping with my wife."

Daisy let out an exasperated sigh, "Quit calling me that!  You are not staying at my house and sleeping with me."

He just kept looking at her, saying nothing but letting those piercing blue eyes stare into her.  He knew he we wearing down her resolve.  "Fuck!”  She said slamming down her foot and then storming off, “Fine, follow me but you are sleeping on the couch."

Chris smiled, knowing that as quickly as she caved for him to stay in the house, there was no way he was sleeping on the couch tonight.


	28. Storm Warning

Daisy began walking toward the front of the store to make sure the door was, in fact, locked and secured.  She pulled down the nightshade and turned on the lights in the display window.  As she started to walk toward the back of the store, she picked up Chris’ bag so she could give it to him.  However, instead of handing it to him, she tossed it at his feet.  She then gathered up her purse and belongings and made a beeline for the back door.  When he didn’t move, she stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at him and providing the unspoken order to get moving.

He quickly picked up his bag and started moving toward the door.  When he walked out the door, she turned to set the alarm making sure she emphasized the pressing of the buttons.  Once the alarm was set, she slammed the door and locked it.  The entire time Chris was trying to hold back his laughter.  Without speaking, she walked over to her car and threw her purse in the back seat and started to get in, it was then that she noticed he was just standing there.

“Get in, I will drive you around front to your rental car.”

“You know, we could just ride home together,” he offered.

“No, because I’m not bringing you to work with me tomorrow.  You need to go back to the airport and fly home to California.”

Chris took a few steps and opened the passenger door and got in, he just looked at her.  “You know, you are really sexy when you are angry.”

She said nothing but glared at him and then started the car, slamming it in reverse to pull out into the alley and then throwing it into drive and speeding around the corner to pull in front of the shop.  Her anger was manifesting in her driving, and Chris didn’t dare open his mouth to say anything.  But he didn’t have to, the flashing blue and red lights were going to do it for him.

As Daisy pulled up behind Chris’ rental car, the Sheriff’s car pulled up right behind her.  She gripped the wheel and put her head down, her mood was not going to get any better.  As the deputy was approaching, Daisy put her window down, and Chris didn’t move.

“In a hurry Daisy?”

“Hello, Michael, yeah, sorry about that.”

“I see you have a passenger with you, it’s dangerous to drive like that with someone in the car, Daisy.  Come on you should know that, right?”

She was exasperated, and it was showing, she let out a huff, her voice was terse when she responded, “Michael, are you going to give me a ticket or what?  I’m having a bad night, and I just want to go home so can we just get this over with?”

“Now you don’t have to be so testy,” he said as he got out his ticket book and started to write.

It was at this point that it finally dawned on Chris who this was, “Michael?  As in your ex, Michael?”  His voice was low, and his question was directed to Daisy, but he didn’t know if his voice had carried or not.  Daisy slowly nodded her head in response to his question and Chris began to laugh, trying desperately to keep it quiet.

“Is something funny?”  Michael asked.

Chris opened the car door and stepped out, keeping his hands where Michael could easily see them.  “I understand you used to date Daisy, correct?”  Michael shook his head in acknowledgment.  “Hi, I’m Chris.  I want to offer you my apologies.  See, I’m Daisy’s husband and the reason she is so angry this evening; so she is taking her anger at me out on you.”

The look on Michael’s face was absolutely priceless, eyes wide and shock evident.  “Husband?” Chris shook his head, and Michael looked down at Daisy and then back at Chris, “When did this happen because I didn’t know Daisy got married.”

“It happened last week, and I don’t think she has started telling anyone quite yet.  That is one of the reasons we’re arguing; she isn’t sure how she wants to tell everyone, and I am ready to shout it from the rooftops.  So we have a bit of a difference of opinion and because of that, she was a little worked up and driving faster than she should have been.  She was bringing me around to my rental car so we could head to the house.”

Michael looked back at Daisy, she had put her head back on the steering wheel, and she did not look happy.  “I thought you didn’t want to get married, Daisy?  Or was it that you just didn’t want to marry me?”

“Michael, he isn’t telling you the entire story.”

“Save it, Daisy, I don’t want to hear it,” he put his ticket book away and began to walk back to his cruiser.  He was hurt and dejected and suddenly didn’t care about how Daisy had been driving.   He got in the car and sped away, and as his taillights disappeared into the horizon, Daisy’s stomach dropped.  She felt horrible, and her anger at Chris was intensifying.

“Well, looks like you got out of a ticket,” he said proudly.

“You’re an ass!  Get in your car and follow me home before I change my mind.”

He noticed that she wasn’t happy, and he began to realize that maybe he shouldn’t have gotten out of the car, and he shouldn’t have introduced himself.  He thought he was helpful, figured he was making it easier on Daisy; evidently that was not the case.

He followed her to the house but kept a safe distance and did not speed.  He was afraid the deputy might be on the watch for them, and he didn’t want to give him an opportunity to pull him over.  Daisy was not as worried about speed, she was driving with reckless abandon, but he was able to keep up even without driving as fast.  Before he knew it, they were pulling into the driveway.

The house was not really what he had anticipated, but then again he didn’t know what he was expecting.  It was a small, craftsman style home with large steps leading to the porch and front door.  The porch was wide, but she didn’t have any chairs or even a swing; the kind of thing this type of porch screamed for honestly.  The door was a thick and ornate with cut glass windows across the top.  This house had character from the outside, and he couldn’t wait to see the inside. 

Daisy was not waiting for him, she had turned off her car and had started walking toward the door.  He hurried to do the same and to catch up.  As he bounded up the steps, he followed her through the door before she could close it on him, afraid if he didn’t get in she wouldn’t open the door to let him in. 

Once inside, he wasn’t disappointed.  The house was cozy, and it fit Daisy’s personality; although, not her current mood.  She didn’t slam anything around, but he could tell she was still not very happy.  She went into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge, and it was only after a long pull from the bottle did it occur to her to offer him one.

“Do you want a drink, Chris?”

“No, I’m good,” he answered while watching her carefully, “Daisy do you want to talk about it?  Maybe yell at me a little?  Get it off your chest?”

She stared at him, anger and desire clouding her eyes, “Why in the world would you go and tell him that you were my husband?”  She placed the bottle on the counter and braced herself with one arm and the other arm planted firmly on her hip. 

“I figured if I said to him and that you were mad at me that maybe he would go easy on you.”

“So, you thought to tell my ex, the man I wouldn’t marry because I said I didn’t want to get married, that I was now married to you that it would be the best way to get me out of trouble?  Wow, you are a bright one aren’t you?”

“Ok, maybe it wasn’t the most brilliant idea.”

“You think?”  The sarcasm in her voice was thick and was not hard to miss, “Chris, there are less than 10 people who know we are married and only 3 people in town that know.  I wasn’t planning on telling people since we are going to get out of it.  Dude, you just told my ex, who is a sheriff’s deputy and he will end up telling everyone.”

He cringed, while he didn’t care, he didn’t want to get divorced, and he wanted her invested in this relationship, he knew this wouldn’t set well.  “Hey, look on the bright side, at least he didn’t recognize me.”

“Thank God for that, he is a huge Captain America fan by the way,” she took another long drink from the beer bottle.  The stress of the entire night was starting to wear on her. 

Chris walked into the kitchen and pulled her into an embrace, she didn’t fight him.  It felt good to be wrapped in his arms, she felt safe, and she hated to admit that.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; breathing in his manly scent.  The smell of his sweat from their impromptu sex in her office mixed with his cologne and soap – she loved it.  Lost for a moment, she forgot she was supposed to be mad and that she was not supposed to want him in her house or in her life. 

~ * ~

Daisy woke up and found herself naked and entwined with Chris, in her bed.  Shit!  She could not explain it when they were apart they could bicker, and she was fine not being with him.  But when they were in the same room, looking at one another, it was animalistic, and they could not keep their hands off of one another.  There was definitely nothing to complain about in the bedroom department.  And truth be told, the bickering was mainly because she was so damn insistent on ending the marriage.  If she would just shut up and give in, the two of them would be happy, she knew it.

Chris was snuggled into her, his arm draped over her and his legs wrapped around hers.  She could feel his warm breath on her neck, and it was comforting and stimulating at the same time.  There was no denying the fact that she loved him.  She could try and fight this all she wanted but deep down it was not going to do her any good.  Her real reasons for opposing this marriage had more to do with dealing with the fallout from the media and his fans; Daisy was not sure she could handle the spotlight.  Honestly, she had not talked to Chris about this but then again, she had not had a real discussion with Chris about being married since they found out they were married.  Maybe she was unfair but how could she admit that now after she had already filed for an annulment and had the real papers ready to be delivered to his house within the next day or so?

Daisy slowly moved and was able to untangle herself from Chris, she had to get a shower and get ready for work.  She had Kimberly coming into the store today to talk about taking on some regular hours, and she did not want to be late.  As she stood from the bed, turned and noticed that Chris did not stir, he was still asleep and looked so handsome and peaceful.  She did, at least, cover him with a sheet so he was not so exposed.

She quickly showers and gets ready, and when she steps out of the bathroom, she notices he is no longer in the bed.  She walks into the kitchen and finds him, dressed in jeans only with ruffled hair, making coffee.  She takes a moment to admire the view.  He doesn’t notice her immediately so she can watch him uninterrupted.

Finally, she decided to break the silence, “Making yourself at home, I see.”

“I needed coffee, I figured you did, too.  I thought I would be a good man and make it while you were in the shower.”

“So I guess I woke you?  Sorry about that,” Daisy muttered as she brushed passed him to open the fridge and pull out her flavored creamer.  When she turned back around, Chris was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, watching her.  “What?”

“Nothing, just admiring the view.  And no, you didn’t actually wake me but thanks for being concerned.”  She stared at him for a moment and began to smile and then before she could stop herself, began to all out laugh.  He had no idea what she found to be so hysterical.  When her laughter began to subside, he finally asked, “Ok, what is so funny?”

“Your hair!  It is sticking up all over your head, why have I never noticed it before?  I mean, in Vegas I never paid attention to your bed head but today, it is sticking up like a banty rooster,” she again broke into a fit of laughter.

“Is that a Southern thing?  I have never heard that before.”

“I guess, my mom used to say it all the time.  But seriously, I take it you didn’t have as much gel in your hair or something.  Which by the way, if you ask me, which you don’t, I like your hair softer and more natural without all the gel in it.”

“Oh, so the wife has an opinion.  I guess I should ask, this sort of thing is important to know,” he took a drink of his coffee and watched her expression.  He knew she hated it when he referred to her as his wife so he did it as often as he could while he could. 

“Are you going back home today?”  She asked, blatantly ignoring his remark.

“Nope, I kinda like it here.”

She walked off, making no further comment, going into the bedroom to finish getting ready.  She returned a moment later, tossing him a keyring, “There is a key to the house if you go anywhere, please make sure to lock up.  I would prefer you stay in the house, but I know it does me no good to say that.  I’ll be back around 6:30 and we can decide what to do for dinner.”

As she made it to the front door, Chris came running after her, “Wait, don’t I get a kiss goodbye?”  He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he pulled her to him and gave her a panty melting kiss.  When he released her lips and stepped away, her eyes were still closed, and he could tell she was still thinking about it.  “Yeah, think about that all day,” he teased.

She muttered something under her breath and turned and stormed out the front door.


	29. Meeting the In-Laws

Chris watched Daisy pull out of the driveway.  He had to admit that he did not like watching her leave, this was now the fourth time he had to watch her walk away from him, and he didn’t like it.  He also didn’t like the idea that she wasn’t wearing her ring.  He noticed when he got to the store yesterday that she didn’t have it on.  He saw it on top of the dresser when they went into the bedroom last night.  She never acknowledged it and never made a move to hide it either.  It held a prominent spot on top of the dresser, like she wanted to be able to see it and admire it but just wasn’t willing to put it on.

Daisy also didn’t fight him when he followed her to the bedroom last night.  When he held her in the kitchen, he could tell she didn’t want to let go, and she was comfortable.  He just went with it and asserted himself in escorting her to the bedroom.  He didn’t push her into anything. Instead, he listened as she changed her clothes and voiced her concern over Michael being upset over Chris’ confession about their marriage.  She never flinched that he was in the room and never argued when he took of his clothes and crawled into bed with her.  No, she just snuggled right up to him and continued to pour out her heart as if it was a typical night between the two of them.  He loved it.

With Daisy at work, he thought it would be a good idea to get a feel for her town.  Get a sense about the town that made Daisy into the woman that she was.  He noticed when he pulled up in front of her shop that there was a café called Melody’s just a few doors down.  He also remembered that when Daisy passed out the other day, her best friend picked up the phone and said her name was Melody, so he figured it was a safe bet that they were the same person.  He thought maybe he could grab a bite to eat and meet this friend and maybe learn some insight about his wife. 

He drove into town, careful to watch his speed.  Good thing he did, he noticed the deputy’s cruiser at the end of the road.  It pulled out behind him and followed him all the way into town.  When he pulled into the parking spot in front of Melody’s it parked nearby and the deputy just sat and watched.  Chris didn’t look over or even acknowledge him, he figured it best not to poke the bear or make things worse.

He walked into the small café and found an empty table near the back, taking a seat so that his back was to the door.  Not wanting anyone to come in and get a good look at him.  He had no idea who Melody was or what she looked like so he figured he would just ask the waitress when she came to the table.  Seems, he didn’t have to wait long to find out.

A bubbly, blonde with a head full of ringlet curls sat down across from him and tried to keep her voice quiet, “Oh dear God, I cannot believe you are in my café.  Is Daisy aware you are in town?”

Chris tried to suppress a smile but it was not easy, “Um, yeah, she knows but she has no idea I am sitting here right now.  She thinks I am back at the house.”

“Let me get you some breakfast, hold on,” she said as she jumped up from the table and ran to the back.  Returning a moment later with a tray full of food that she placed in front of him; pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, ham, potatoes, biscuits, gravy, and grits.  “Not sure what you like but eat all you want and I can get you more.”

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly, “Tell me about Daisy, tell me what she is like and why she seems so scared.  I am having the hardest time trying to figure her out, and I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Oh, she will kill me for this, though.  She’s an only child and was sheltered growing up, I mean really sheltered.  Her dad would try to get her to push her boundaries, but her mom would pull her right back in.  She was socially awkward, I’ve been friends with her since fourth grade, so I can say that with some authority.  Over the years, she has had some close girlfriends including Violet, Tangie, and Alexis.”

“Violet, as in Morgan, her divorce attorney?”

“Yeah, that would be the same one.”

“Great, so one of her best friends is helping get her out of her marriage, this is going to be delightful.”

“Chris, Daisy loves you but I think she is trying to protect her heart, and she thinks to do that she needs to stay single.  She wants to be married, she is just really scared of the prospect.  For the love of Pete, why do you think she owns a bridal store?  She loves the idea of romance.”

“Ok, suddenly you’ve lost me.  Why does she think she needs to stay single to guard her heart?  I guess someone broke it?”

“Yeah, remember I said her dad kept trying to get her to push her boundaries?  Well, he got her to go away to college, she was doing really well bet fell hard for this guy.  He played her and dumped her and broke her heart; she was naïve and should have seen it coming but didn’t.  She came back home, wouldn’t go back to finish her degree at that school.  Gave up her dream of her MBA and everything because of one guy.  He ruined her heart, and she built a wall and made it difficult for anyone else to get in.”

“What about Michael out there?”  He said motioning to the cruiser parked out front.

“Ah, well he tried, but she only let him get so far.  He is an idiot, but he kept thinking she would eventually come around.  She never had any intention of marrying him, but he never could see that because he was head over heels for her.  She wants a Disney Prince and Michael has no clue what that means.”

When Chris heard these words, his ears perked up.  He could relate, he wanted a Disney Princess and felt that Daisy was that for him so by all means he could be her Prince Charming.  Why didn’t he think of this all along?   Whether she knew it or not, Melody had just provided all the information he needed to help him win his wife.  He hurried and ate while Melody continued to chat; nothing important was said, but it was information that could always come in handy later.

“Breakfast was fantastic, how much do I owe you?”  He asked as he reached for his wallet.

“Nothing, I just get to say I had the pleasure of serving Captain America,” Melody grinned, “Can I at least get a selfie with you?”

“Yeah sure, if you will give me one more bit of information.  I want to know how to get out to the orchard for Daisy’s parents; I think it is only fair I say hello to my in-laws,” he grinned.

“Are you trying to get everyone on #TeamChris?”

“If it will work to get Daisy to stay married to me, then yes.”

Melody gave him directions and Chris gave her some money for the breakfast anyway.  He then walked out of the café, tipped his hat to the deputy, got in his car and began to drive out toward the orchard.   Once again the cruiser followed him, and Chris did everything he could to make sure he was obeying the speed limit and that he came to a complete stop at the stop signs. 

He turned on the private drive for the orchard and noticed that the cruiser did not follow; thank goodness for private property signs.  As he approached the old farmhouse, his heart began to beat just a tad bit faster.  He was getting nervous at the prospect of knocking on this door and introducing himself.  He had no idea how he would be received, and he had no idea how Daisy would react when she found out. 

He put the car in park and turned the motor off, waiting for a minute to collect his thoughts before stepping out.  As he began to walk up the steps, the front door opened, and a man dressed in khaki slacks and a denim shirt stepped out onto the porch.  He was a handsome man, and Chris could tell right away that this was Daisy’s father, she bore a striking resemblance to him in the eyes and cheekbones. 

As Chris took the top step, he took off his hat and put out his hand, “I’m Chris Evans, you must be Mr.Proctor, I’m pleased to meet you, sir.”

Thomas Proctor broke into a wide grin and waved off the handshake and embraced Chris immediately, “It is nice to meet you, son.  Please, come in, Martha and I have been dying to talk to you,”  he released Chris from the hug and turned to open the screen door.  As soon as he did, he yelled into the house, “Martha, our son-in-law is here!”

Chris had to smile, he was not expecting this type of reception.  And how did they know he was coming?  Oh, Melody must have called ahead, he should have known.  Gossip travels fast in a small town.

“Come on in here, Chris.  Do you like tea?  Or do you want a beer?  Lemonade?  Water?”

“Water would be all right, thanks.  Did someone tell you I was coming?”

“No, but we had been telling Daisy we wanted to meet you, and she had been so insistent about filing for an annulment that we told her she had to introduce us to you before she did it.  So, we figured with her filing any day now, she would make you come out here.”

“Oh, she’s filed already.  Actually, she filed, and I came out here to argue with her reason and tore up the papers in front of her,” Chris announced and then suddenly regretted saying anything.

“She did what?  What reason did she use to file?”  Martha demanded.

“Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything.  I think she should share that with you, I don’t want to cause a problem between you and her.”

“Just tell me this, son, did she file for an annulment or divorce?”  Thomas Proctor asked.

“Annulment, but honestly she is going to have a hard time with that sticking, sir.  There is a video, and we were not intoxicated, and she was not forced or under duress.  It will have to be a divorce, and I think she was trying to avoid that.  Probably because that will be public record and will go in the paper – I’m guessing she doesn’t want people in town knowing about this.”

“Here is my question,” Martha interjected, “Do you love my daughter?  I mean, to be honest, she is not the Hollywood type.  She is not the typical Hollywood beauty, and she isn’t a trophy wife but what she is, well, she is smart and beautiful and loyal and a real woman.  She doesn’t deserve to be a pawn in a sick or twisted game.”

Chris leaned forward, “Mr. and Mrs. Proctor, I have no intention of playing any sort of game with Daisy.  I can’t really explain this to have it make sense because, well, frankly it makes no sense.  I have connected with Daisy, unlike any other woman, ever.  She cast a spell on me when I met her, and I am completely captivated.  I can be myself, and I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not and that is a big deal for me.  Most of the people I encounter want me to be a certain way they see me on screen or how they think I will be based on an interview.  Daisy has no preconceived notion of who she thinks I am so it allows me to be Chris, and that is a gift.”

“And in turn, Daisy is a small town girl who doesn’t have to fit into a mold for you, either,” Thomas offers.

“Exactly!  We fit each other perfectly, and when we are in the room together, we are electric.  We tried to deny it when we first met but it was no use, we were drawn to one another, like magnets.  We both said we are scared of messing up the relationship.  I told her I have a bad habit of messing up the ones I want to keep.  I didn’t intend to marry her so quickly, I’ll be honest.  But, I won’t say that I wouldn’t have married her at some point.  I’m not willing to let her go because I’m afraid I might not have a chance to get her back, and I’m not willing to lose her forever.”

Martha and Thomas exchange glances, it is as if they completely understand what Chris has said.  Thomas decides to go ahead and speak up, “Chris, we can be overprotective of our little Daisy.  She can be a little overprotective of her own heart, and we think you need to keep chipping away at the wall she has built around it.  We are very supportive of this relationship.  We are hesitant with the fact that you are an actor and could whisk her away to California or wherever and away from us but it could be good for her.  But please don’t break her heart and please don’t make a fool out of her, that is all we ask.”

“You have my word, I have no intention of breaking her heart.  I just hope she doesn’t break mine in the process.”


	30. I Fought the Law

Chris visited with the Proctors for about an hour before deciding to head back into town.  He got to know them and felt as if they were a great addition to, what Melody had referred to as, #TeamChris.  The conversation had provided him the perfect opportunity though to admit that he was, in fact, completely in love with Daisy.  He wasn’t trying to get out of this marriage and had no intention of running away. 

He had shared with the Proctors what he had not yet shared with Daisy, that his Agent, Manager and PR team already knew about the wedding.  They had been watching for any tabloid leaks or any social media chatter so they could squash it.  Luckily, nothing had even registered.  Probably because Chris was recorded in the hotel under a fake name and he had never been linked to a girl named Daisy so it didn’t jump out to anyone.  And there had been no sightings of him in Vegas that weekend so the clerk’s office wasn’t watching for any licenses to come through with his name on them.

He knew this was a fear of her’s that news of the wedding would leak, and she would be outed.  He didn’t know if she was afraid of the reaction of the fans or if she was afraid his mind would be changed based on the opinion of everyone else.  If he had to wager a bet, it was probably a little of both.  He also figured she was struggling with the idea that he had so many female fans; she was a fan of his so she knew how women talked about him and what was said on certain fan sites, etc.  It was odd being on the other side of that now.

He knew that he really needed to sit down and talk to her, though.  He needed to see what her actual concerns were and how they could work through them.  She was so quick to want to end the marriage that they never discussed how they could work through these issues.  His mind was racing so much that he failed to use his turn signal when pulling back onto the main highway into town.  It was within a split second that the flashing lights of the cruiser went on, and the deputy that had been following him pulled him over.  Chris pulled the rental car over immediately but could not believe this was happening.

As Michael approached, Chris pushed the button to lower the window, “Good Afternoon, Michael,” he was jovial in his greeting in the hopes that the confrontation from last night could be put behind them.

“That’s Deputy to you, can you get out of your vehicle, sir?”

“Yeah, sorry about that Deputy,” Chris said with a heavy dose of sarcasm, “Why do I need to exit my vehicle for a directional violation?  Don’t you just need my license and registration?”

“You were driving recklessly so I’m gonna need you to come with me down to the station so I can run your license and write up your ticket.”

“Recklessly?  I failed to use my blinkah, and you are calling that reckless?”

“I am not going to ask you again, sir.  Get out of your vehicle,”  Michael’s voice was firm, and there was no hint that he was being friendly or joking.

Chris turned the ignition off and flung open the car door, he was not in a pleasant mood as he did so.  He quickly pocketed the car keys and evidently the move didn’t sit well with the Deputy, who immediately grabbed Chris and pushed him against the car.  “Hey, no need to get rough, Deputy, I did like you asked and got out of the car.”

“You have an attitude, sir and it is best that I squelch that right away.  You are being handcuffed for my protection as well as your own.  I am taking you to the station where I can run your license and write up your appropriate violations.”

“Oh small town cruisers, don’t have computers in your cars, eh?  Can certainly tell I’m not in LA or Boston.”

“Get picked up quite a bit do ya?  Well, we can just add this to your extensive rap sheet then,”  Michael sneered.  He then waved at the passing vehicle as he shoved Chris in the back seat.

~ * ~

Thomas Proctor slammed his foot on the gas, knowing that since Michael was busy, he wouldn’t stop him for exceeding the speed limit.  He quickly pulled up in front of the bridal shop and ran into the store yelling for Daisy. 

“What’s wrong?”  She asked as she came running from the back.

“You need to get over to the Sheriff’s office immediately.  Close the store, this is an emergency.”

“Why, what’s going on?  You have me scared,” the fear was creeping into her voice.

“Michael pulled Chris over, and he had him in handcuffs and was tossing him in the back of the cruiser.”

“What?  What did Chris do?”  She was beginning to panic, then it hit her, how did her dad know who he was or that he was even in town?  “Wait, how do you know it was Chris?”

“Don’t pay no nevermind to that right now just go get your husband out of jail.”

She grabbed her purse and keys and scribbled a note that read ’Closed due to family emergency!’ and hung it on the door.  She ushered her dad out and locked the door and ran the two blocks to the sheriff’s office.  When she walked in, sure enough, Chris was being led into the holding cell, and Michael was slamming it shut behind him.  Daisy marched right through the gate that separated the waiting room from the processing area.  The receptionist went to stop her, but when she saw the determination in Daisy’s eyes, she thought it best to back off.

“Michael, what in the hell do you think you are doing?”

Michael was stunned to hear Daisy’s voice behind him, and he turned around slowly as if he has been caught red handed doing something inappropriate.  “You aren’t supposed to be back here, so I think I should be asking you that question instead.”

She walked up to the holding cell and looked at Chris, “Are you alright?”  He nodded his head but didn’t speak.  She turned back and looked at Michael, “What did you arrest him for?”

“Reckless driving,” he said proudly, puffing out his chest as if he had just solved an important case. 

“I failed to use my damn blinkah, that’s all,” Chris yelled over Daisy’s shoulder.

She turned and gave him an odd look, “Blinkah?  You and that damn accent, your blinker?”  Chris nodded in agreement, she rolled her eyes and turned back toward Michael.  “So, let me get this straight, he failed to use his turn signal, and you arrested him for reckless driving?  Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Well it is the rule of the road, and it is in the driving handbook, I’m not completely out of line.  But to be fair, I was only going to give him a ticket initially.  I was just going to bring him back here to run his license, but he had an attitude, and I didn’t like it so I arrested him for that.”

Daisy put her hands on her hips and glared at him, the kind of look you give to someone when you are at a complete loss for how stupid they can be, and you just don’t know how to put it into words.  It took a few minutes to form her thoughts, and he was beginning to fidget, he was aware that this was not going to be good for him. 

“You know Michael, you are a fucking moron!  Not only are you an idiot for pulling him over because he didn’t use his turn signal but you fail miserably when it comes to fundamental powers of observation.  Put a beard on a guy and have him wear a baseball hat and you can’t even tell he’s your favorite fucking superhero!  No wonder you flunked out of the FBI!”

Chris let out a laugh, and Daisy turned to cast her stare at him.  He immediately turned and held his laughter back; he realized real quick that he didn’t want to be on the business end of her tirade.  But he had to admit, this was comical to see her dress down the deputy.  It was a wonder that boy lasted two years with her.

“Now wait a minute that’s not fair.  Quantico was harder than you think and I didn’t fail because of not being able to observe properly,” he was downright flustered at this point, “And just where do you get off coming in here ranting and raving just because I arrested your husband?  And what does any of this have to do with superheroes?  I have to admit that now I’m lost,” Michael shot back at her.

“Let me go slow for you, Barney.  Have you looked at hid ID yet?”

“Quit calling me Barney, you know that pisses me off.  And no, I haven’t and why should that matter?”

“Because, if you would look at his ID he is clean shaven on his driver’s license so he looks an awful lot like Steve Rogers.  Then you will notice his name is Chris Evans, as in the Chris Evans, who plays your favorite superhero, Captain America,” as Daisy said these words Michael’s eyes grew wide, and he looked over at Chris, who was just smiling and nodding his head.  “Yeah, so you just handcuffed and made an ass of yourself to your favorite actor.  How’s that make you feel, Barney?”

Chris began to chuckle behind her, finding this entire scenario suddenly quite funny.  However, when Daisy spun on her heels to stare him down again, he suddenly did not find it funny any longer.

“And you!  What in the hell, were you provoking him?  Arguing with him?  Trying to prove your point that he was wrong and you were right?  I mean, he was was wrong but could you not just be respectful and go along until he saw your ID and realized who you were?”

“Where did you pick him up, Michael?”

“Turning on the main road, he was coming back from your parent's house.”

“He’s been following me all day,” Chris chimed in quickly, in the hopes that she would not latch on to the fact of where he had been.

“What?  Is that true, you’ve been tailing him all day?”  Daisy began to tap her foot waiting for him to answer but he wasn’t offering up any response.  Instead, he played with the rim of his hat the he held in his hand.  “That is harassment you know.  Is this all because of last night?  I have no problem talking to your father about this, do I need to go down that route?”

“No, don’t, I swear I will leave him alone, I will leave the two of you alone.  Yeah, I was still upset about last night, and I didn’t handle it very well, and I’m sorry.”

“Unlock the cell door and let Chris out,” she directed Michael and then she turned back to Chris, “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about where you were.  We will discuss that, but I am not doing that here.”

The handcuffs had been removed from Chris when he was put in the holding cell so all Michael had to do was open the cell door.  He was fumbling with the keys, Daisy made him nervous, and her tapping of her foot was not helping.  And the pointing out that the man in the cell was Captain America, well that really didn’t help either.  As he unlocked the cell, Michael could not look up or make eye contact with Chris; he was too embarrassed with what had transpired over the last hour.

As Chris walked out, he offered his hand to Michael in an act of goodwill, “Look, no hard feelings, okay.  Chalk it up to a simple misunderstanding and let it be water under the bridge.  I know there is a history between you and Daisy and I probably could have handled things better last night; I think I was just trying to make light of the situation.”

Michael returned the handshake, “Thank you, I am sorry for earlier, and I definitely let my, shall we say, emotions, get the better of me.”

“Do you two want to kiss and make up or can we leave now?”  Daisy asked.

Michael leaned forward to Chris, “By the way, my condolences for marrying her.”

“I heard that Michael!”  Daisy barked.

Chris laughed as he walked over and took Daisy’s hand and laced his fingers with hers and walked out of the station and back towards the bridal shop.  They were halfway down the street when Chris finally got up the nerve to say something to her.

“Thank you for rescuing me, you’re my hero you know,” he leaned over and kissed her temple.

“Yeah, well I am sure the entire town will know by the end of the night that I am married to Captain America, and that means the tabloids will know, and your cover will be blown.  My emotions got the best of me, and I blurted it all out.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him.  They walked like that for the remaining block back to the shop.  Daisy was oblivious to the people on the street watching them.  She got to the shop and opened the door and pulled the sign off the door and Chris followed her inside.

“Babe, how exactly did you know I had been arrested?”

“My dad, evidently he was driving past as Michael was shoving you in the back of the cruiser.  He made a mad dash for the store and told me to get over to the station and save you.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t let me rot over there,” he spat out, immediately wishing he wouldn’t have said it.

“Had I known where you were coming from when you were arrested I would have.  What in the hell were you doing going out to my parent's place?”

“I wanted to meet my in-laws, and I had a feeling you wouldn’t introduce me.”

“Oh my God, they aren’t going to be your in-laws for long!”

“I like them, nice folks, good people and they absolutely adore you.  They said they have been asking you to introduce me, but you keep saying no.  And by the way,  Martha is quite upset that you filed the first set of annulment papers.  She is equally mad at me for not telling her what the reason was that you used to file but she is mad that you filed.”

“Damn it, I should have let you rot over there in the jail.  I wonder if Michael will take you back.”

“Oh, come on,” he said as he walked over to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on her shoulder, “It gave me a great opportunity to tell them how much I love their daughter.  How we might have been married in an unconventional way but that I am fighting for what I want, and I promise to take care of her, and I don’t intend on breaking her heart, and I sincerely hope she doesn’t break mine.”

His words lingered in the air for a  minute and then Daisy raised her hands to hold onto his arms, “You told my parents that?  Really?”

“Yeah, every word.  So answer me this, if I work here in the store with you this afternoon, will you take me to my rental car tonight?  It is kind of far for me to walk?”

“Yeah, I might be able to do that for you,” she said with a slight smirk.

“Great, but I think I might need the new hire orientation like I had yesterday when I first got here.  Do you think we could have another meeting in the office this afternoon?”  He whispered in her ear and then nibbled and kissed down her neck.

“Well, let’s see how well you work the rest of the afternoon before we make any plans like that.”

 

 


	31. The Storms a Brewin'

Chris had worried about working alongside Daisy after their scuffle regarding his trip to her parent’s house.  However, the rest of the day went by great, and he enjoyed working with her; he did the heavy lifting, literally, moving boxes and helping to straighten up the storeroom.  He enjoyed spending the time with her, and they had an ease about them that felt like what he had been missing.  It was evident that Daisy knew the wedding business and knew the product in her store.  He was just concerned with the fact that the traffic in the store was quite light, and he couldn’t help but wonder how in the world she was able to stay in business.  She had a full inventory, and he knew these dresses could not be cheap, so how in the world did she stay afloat?  He wanted to ask her, but things were good for them right now, and he was not about to rock the boat.

He also wanted to talk to her about the things he learned from Melody and her parents; how she had been hurt and gave up her dreams of her MBA.  How she was so worried that she would never find true love and built a wall around her heart.  And how she felt the only way to have romance was to own a bridal store and live vicariously through others.  She wanted a Prince Charming and didn’t think they existed; almost the same way he wanted a Disney Princess and didn’t believe that they existed either.

He was lost in his thoughts when his cell began buzzing in his pocket.  He pulled it out and saw the caller ID, his brother Scott was calling.  “Hey man, what’s up?”

“Are you working things out with the wife?”

Chris looked over to see that Daisy was intently working on dressing a mannequin in a new designer gown so she was not paying him any attention.  “Well I’m trying, that’s for sure.  I negated the annulment reason to start with so she is going to have to go back to the drawing board on that one.  Somehow, I think she already has, though.”

“Oh, you showed her who’s in charge!  Wow, I knew you had that in you big brother.  Proud of you for that!”

“Shut up!  I just need to get back to the place we were before the realization we got married.  Things were good when we got to Vegas and even before then.  We used to talk, I miss the conversations we had when I was on the press tour.  I want the Daisy back that wasn’t so fucking worried she would be outed as my wife.”

“You need to tell her that.  What are you two doing right now?”

“I’m helping her move things around in the bridal shop.  I owe her, she sprung me out of jail.”

“What?  You got arrested?  Wait until TMZ gets a hold of that!  What did you get arrested for, public intoxication, public indecency?”

“Failure to use a turn signal.”

Scott was laughing so hard he began to cry, full out began to choke as well, “Please tell me you are kidding?  Who arrested you, Barney Fife?”

“Worse, Daisy’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh that is beautiful, did he know you two are married?  Please say he did.”

“Oh, he did because I have a big mouth.  He followed me all day waiting for me to do the slightest thing wrong and when I did, he hauled me off to jail.  I had to have my wife save me, it was beautiful, though.  I have to tell you, she is sexy when she is angry.”

“Give her a hug for me and I seriously hope you two can work it out,” Scott was preparing to say his goodbyes when a thought crossed his mind, “Hey, Chris, before I hang up, are you going to drop your little marriage bomb on mom?  I mean, don’t you think she’d like to know that she missed your big day?”

“Yeah, I need to tell her, but I want to know what is going to happen here first.  Although I better tell her before the tabloids do, I’ll give her a call.  Talk to you later,” Chris hung up the phone and shoved it back into his jeans pocket.  As he did, he felt Daisy’s arms wrap around his waist, and her head rest in the middle of his back.  “Hey, you okay?”

“Who were you talking to?”

“Scott,” he twisted around so he could give her a proper hug and then kissed the top of her head, “He says hello and wanted me to give you a hug.  He also wanted to know how things were going.”

“I take it he asked if you were going to tell your mom about our little wedding mishap?”

“He did ask if I was going to tell mom, yes.  I admitted I need to do that, but I said I should wait until you, and I talk and work a few things out first.”

Daisy had to admit that right now she didn’t want to move, Chris had his arm around her, and she felt safe and secure in his embrace.  She was lost in the moment when the bell rang to indicate someone had come into the store.  She quickly removed herself and straightened herself up and went to greet her client while Chris excused himself to the back room.  He wanted to try and avoid being recognized if at all possible.

The client apologized profusely for coming in at the last minute, but she needed to pick up her invitation order that had come in.  Daisy went into the back to retrieve the order and helped the young woman get the boxes out to her car; this also provided the ability to lock the front door when she came back in.  Once the door was locked, she practically sprinted to the back of the shop to see if Chris was ready to leave.

“I guess we aren’t going to have that new hire orientation?” He asked.

“No, but maybe we can do that at home,” she said with a smile, “I just want to get out of here.”

Chris agreed he was ready, and Daisy took him to retrieve the rental car; she waited for him and allowed him to follow her back to the house.  Once she was in the house she tried to forage around the kitchen for something to eat; there wasn’t much to choose from.  They agreed that ordering a pizza would make sense and give them an opportunity to talk while they waited for the delivery.

While Daisy ordered, Chris got a beer from the refrigerator and went into the living room.  He walked around, looking at the photos on the wall and the books on her shelves; trying to get a feel for what made Daisy tick.  Her books were an assorted collection of romance, history, and murder mysteries.  Same went from her DVD collection, although he did notice that the Marvel movies held a special place in the collection.  He also noticed she had quite the collection of Chris Evans movies.

“Daisy, you got a thing for this Chris Evans guy?  You seem to have all of his movies and some of these suck!”

“Yeah, some of them are dreadful, but he is kinda of pretty to look at it so I can get past the fact that they are shitty movies,” she said laughing.

He took a drink of his beer, “So, which movie to you like?”

“Well, all of the Captain America movies of course.”

“No, non-Cap movies, which do you like?”  He was quite serious.

“I like ‘What’s Your Number’ and ‘Before We Go’ because I always thought that you were probably like Colin and Nick.  I know your mom said in an interview you are like Jensen.  But, I bet you are a little of all of your characters – although I don’t know about Curtis because I can’t get through Snowpiercer.”

“Fair enough, and yeah, I guess I am a little like each one of them,” he said as he sat down and got comfortable on the couch.  She joined him, deciding to lay down, resting her head in his lap.  “You don’t mind do you?”  She asked innocently.

“No, you’re fine, babe,” he responded as he gently stroked her hair.  He thought that maybe this would be an excellent opportunity to start that conversation Scott had encouraged.  “I know I am risking the peace we have right now, but I think we need to have a serious discussion.”  He could sense her body tense, “Before the discovery that we had, um, gotten married in Vegas, wouldn’t you say that we had a pretty good relationship thing going?”

Daisy was quiet for a moment, staring straight ahead and holding her breath before letting it out and responding, “Yeah, it was nice.”  She wanted to say more, but couldn’t.  She wanted to admit that he was right, that their relationship had been comfortable and for two people from two completely different backgrounds, their relationship was amazingly easy and uncomplicated.

“It was nice, comfortable even.  The calls and texts were uncomplicated, and we were relaxed with one another.  And Vegas, well that was extremely enjoyable, and I don’t want to take any part of it back.  My shy little Daisy came out of her shell, and it was beautiful; you surprised me in so many ways, and I loved it,” he paused to give himself a minute before continuing, “I miss all of that Daisy.  Since we found out that we are married, you’ve been concerned with people finding out about us and you’ve pushed yourself away from me.  I miss you, I want the woman I fell madly in love with to come back to me.”

Daisy let his words sink in for a minute, and as she was preparing to respond to him, the doorbell rang to indicate the pizza had arrived.  She sat up and looked at him, “Sorry, I’ll be right back.”

She ran to the door and paid for the pizza and took it into the dining room, she got plates and napkins and started to turn to head toward the living room to get Chris when she ran right into him. “Hey, I was coming to get you, thought maybe we could finish our discussion over dinner?” She asked hopefully.

“Daisy, I know this isn’t something you are really ready to talk about.  I could tell in your body language when I brought it up.  Go ahead and eat without me, I’m going to take a shower and go to bed,” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and turned to walk toward the bedroom.

Daisy was stunned, she had not expected that.  But he was right, she didn’t want to talk about it; she didn’t know how to respond to him.  She couldn’t just turn off her fear of the outside world, and until he mentioned it in the shop, she had not even given any consideration to him telling his family.  And now she had to worry about the reaction of his mother!  Lisa Evans is wildly protective of her son, and they are very close.  She watched the bedroom door close, and she immediately ran over to her purse and grabbed her cell, hitting the icon to direct dial Melody.

“Why in the world are you calling me when you have a hot husband at home?”

“How did you know he’s in town?”

“Um, well, I might have had him in the café this morning,” Melody admitted, “He came in for breakfast, and we chatted.  You know Daisy, he is so much better looking in person than he is in the movies.  I mean seriously woman, the news is going to travel fast that he’s around.”

“How many people have you told?”

“Not a soul, I swear.  No one in the café recognized him either, which is surprising.  But if he goes out at all tomorrow, he might not be so lucky.”

“That isn’t why I am calling you, and we can discuss that later, but I have a bigger concern right now!”

“Ok, chicken little, what is it this time?”

“He hasn’t told his mom about us, I mean nothing about us, she doesn’t even know about us dating much less that we are married.”

“Ok, and this is a bad thing because?”

“Chris tells his mom everything, and she has no clue about us.”

“Daisy, you weren’t really open with your parents remember?  You backed into telling them about your marriage because your mom saw the certificate on the counter when she stopped by during your freak out.  If it hadn’t been for that, you wouldn’t have told them.”

“Yeah, but Chris tells his mom everything, and I mean everything and he hasn’t told her a thing about us.  I don’t think he even told her we were dating – the only one in the family that knows anything is Scott.  That can’t be good, right?”

“Would you quit inventing shit to worry about?”  Melody took a deep breath before continuing, this was going to be tough to get through, “Daisy, I’m going to be the friend you need right now instead of the friend you want.  You need to get off of your ass and make a decision about what you want to do.  You tell me you love the man, but you keep worrying about his fans, or his mom, or your parents, or some other shit that will come down the pike versus just living in the moment and being with him.  Hang up the damn phone and go be with him.”

“I can’t, he’s taking a shower which is why I called you.”

“Well from what you’ve told me, the shower never stopped you before.  Go seduce your husband and make this work or tell Violet to do the divorce, send him packing with that beautiful ring and don’t look back.  And for God sake never watch another Chris Evans movie again.”

“Thanks, Melody,” Daisy murmured and disconnected the call.  She sat her phone on the dining room table and then walked toward the bedroom door, turning the knob quietly she entered the room and could hear the shower still running in the bathroom.  She closed the bedroom door behind her and proceeded over to the dresser to change.  She figured she wouldn’t join him in the shower, but she could at least join him for bed.

The sad thing was that Daisy knew that Chris and Melody were both right, she let one piece of paper change the entire dynamics of a relationship.  She was being true to him and to herself when she admitted that she loved him; that had not changed. As she was changing into her lace tank top and matching shorts she heard the water stop.  She moved to pull back the sheets on the bed, and her heart was racing, she knew he would be entering the bedroom at any moment.  As she settled onto the bed, sitting with her legs crossed, her heart did stop – he walked into the room wearing plaid pajama bottoms and no shirt.  Water droplets were trickling down his chest and then tracing the path of his abs, and he was towel drying his hair.  He stopped when he looked up and noticed her sitting there, “I didn’t expect you to come to bed so early.”  He walked around the end of the bed and sat down; he didn’t comment on how she was dressed or that she was apparently staring at him.”

“Yeah, well I lost my appetite as well, and I owed you an opportunity to finish our discussion,” she offered as a response.

“So you’ve been waiting for me in here?  Why didn’t you just join me in the shower?” 

“I didn’t think there would be much discussion if I were to join you there.”

“And you think there will be much discussion here with you dressed like that?”

“There can be as little or as much conversation as you want,” she said with a wink.  “Look, I realize I am confusing, and I get it.  I do love you, God help me, I do.  There are things about this relationship and this marriage that bother me and I don’t know how to express them and I am not sure you would understand if I did.  And I risk you thinking I am a fool either way.”

“You keep shutting me out Daisy, and while I enjoy a good fight, I am starting to wonder just what I am fighting for.”

**  
**


	32. Get Me a Broom

Chris could not believe that the mere discussion he had wanted to have with Daisy had moved in an entirely opposite direction.  He had just wanted to let her know that he missed his girl; the sweet innocent girl he fell in love with versus the wife he now had who was afraid to talk to him and didn’t seem interested in being married at all.  Why was he fighting so hard to stay married and why was she fighting so hard not to?

The conversation had moved to the bedroom, only because she decided to join him when he elected to skip dinner.  He wasn’t trying to seduce her, he really just wanted to take a shower and go to bed.  But when she joined him wearing that sweet little outfit, he was hoping he could reignite the marital fires.  But this conversation didn’t seem like it was going to let that happen and of course, he had to stoke the flames just a little.

“You keep shutting me out Daisy, and while I enjoy a good fight, I am starting to wonder just what I am fighting for.”

“Do you really love me, Chris?”

Ok, that did it, he was about to unleash his anger on her.  “Oh my God, are you even serious?  If I wasn’t hopelessly in love with you would I be fighting like this?  Would I have flown across the country when I got those ridiculous annulment papers?  Would I have gone to your parent's house to introduce myself and let them know how much I cared for their daughter?  Would it have mattered for me to make sure they knew that I intended to love and take care of her?  Would I have taken the time to eat breakfast with your best friend so I could learn more about you? Or better yet, would I have a run in with your crazy ex who happens to be a sheriff’s deputy and get my ass arrested if I didn’t love you?”

She hung her head, unable to look at him.  He had a point, but she just could not rid the nagging doubt that was in her head.  “But you haven’t known me very long, and you’ve had relationships that lasted longer, and you never got married, so why did you do it so quick with me?”

“You can’t compare yourself to my other relationships because that isn’t fair,” he lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes, “Sometimes you just know, and that is what I felt with you – at the premiere, I just knew.  It was electric when we met, and you can’t tell me you didn’t feel it because I know you did.”

“You didn’t even tell your mom we were dating, and now you haven’t even told her we’re married.”

“Well, to be fair, we’ve not yet been married an entire week and during that time you’ve been telling me you will divorce me and actually served me with annulment papers – not exactly wedded bliss to tell her about now is it?”

“I didn't want this to be a fight,” she said softly as she turned from him and laid down, her head hitting the pillow as she faced the bathroom door.

Chris just watched her for a minute, he wanted to touch her, but he was afraid to.  After a moment, he settled into the bed as well, his back to hers, not the way he wanted to sleep.   He finally whispered, “You know Princess, you make it awfully hard for Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet when your heels are dug in the ground so hard.” 

He didn’t think she was awake, and so he was surprised when he heard a faint response, “Fine, get to sweeping then.”

He smiled taking that as a challenge and thought to himself, ‘that’s my Daisy.’

~ * ~

Daisy woke first the next morning, it was a habit, and she anticipated his body clock was on California time so he would sleep for a few more hours.  She tried to get out of bed without disturbing him, setting off for the bathroom to get ready for work.  She showered and got dressed and when she stepped out, once again she found that he was not in bed.  Like the previous morning, he was in the kitchen, making coffee and looking like he belonged in the house.  He was leaning against the counter, arms crossed and staring at the floor when she walked in. 

“Good Morning,” she offered in a sing-song voice, trying to cast aside the remnants of last night.  “Thank you for starting the coffee, I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I didn’t really sleep,” he grumbled without looking up.  “Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah, in just a few minutes, I need to fix my coffee.”

“Okay, I’m going to go get dressed.  I’ll talk to you later,” and with that, he turned and walked into the bedroom. 

She yelled a “Bye” as she pulled the front door closed and left for the shop.  She was a little confused at his attitude this morning, last night he wanted to talk about where they were and how to get back to where it started and this morning it was if he could barely stand to be in the same room with her.  Maybe it was just that he had very little sleep; she was going to chalk it up to that and let it go.  She knew if she didn’t let it go she would stew over it all day and it would just eat at her.  She had no idea what sort of trouble he would get into being by himself today, but she wasn’t going to worry about that either.  She was going to call Kimberly though, tomorrow as actually going to be their one week anniversary and she thought she would surprise him and celebrate it.  After all, if he wanted her to make a move toward making this marriage work, what better way than celebrating their wedded union?

~ * ~

Chris got dressed and tossed his clothes into his bag.  He made a few phone calls and then began searching for a piece of paper, he scribbled a quick note and then left his key to the house, locked the door and got into the rental car.  He noticed as he pulled out of the driveway, that the deputy cruiser was sitting at the end of the street.  He pulled up behind it, got out of the car and walked up to the driver’s door, knocking on the window.  Michael was a little shocked but put the window down.

“Morning Michael, excuse me, deputy,” Chris offered, “I thought I would let you know, I’m on my way out of town so you don’t have to worry about following me very far.  I promise to use my turn signal and obey all the traffic laws, and again, no hard feelings about yesterday.”

Michael smiled, “I promise, Chris, I’m on regular patrol here, I have no intention of following you.  I’ve been given strict instructions to leave you be.  And I am sorry about yesterday, truly, I am.”

Chris smiled and walked back to his car and pulled out onto the highway and headed toward the city. He had programmed the address into the car’s GPS, so he knew where he was going.  He had even called ahead to make sure she would be in the office.  Almost exactly one hour from leaving Daisy’s house, he pulled into the parking lot of the office building that housed the law office of Violet Morgan.  He wanted to personally deliver the message that he was not signing the annulment documents and let it be known if she had more, he would just take them now and save her the shipping costs.

He opened the door to the office and the receptionist recognized him immediately.  She smiled brightly and let him know she would tell Ms. Morgan that he was there.  A moment later, she was offering to escort him back to her office.

Chris had to admit he was surprised when Violet stood to greet him; it wasn’t often that he could look a woman directly in the eyes when she was not wearing pumps.  He also took notice of the fact that she was dressed in a soft purple blouse with her business suit; she obviously had a sense of humor when it came to her name.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Mr. Evans?”

“I thought I would personally appear to advise that your annulment filing was invalid and would not be able to proceed.”

“I don’t test the truth, I only write the reason, and I have to trust what my client provides me.  I’m sure you can appreciate that, I’m sure you have attorneys of your own that you have to deal with.”

“Wow, you and Grillo would get along great,” Chris said as he started to walk around her office and look at the framed degrees on her wall, “You both certainly know how to land a punch, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sorry, you are comparing me to who?”

“Nevermind killer, it’s not that important.  Can you just cut out the shark that’s out for blood routine?”

“I’m not out for blood, and neither is Daisy, but you should know, divorce proceedings can get ugly even if you don’t want them to, and it would be in your best interest to get your own counsel.  Especially if this drags out, don’t you have a movie that begins shooting at the end of the year?”

“Yeah, it’s not going that far.  The original annulment reason was bogus, and you knew it when you sent the paperwork.”

“Again, I sent what Daisy asked me to.  But you are right, she knew it wasn’t legit, but she wanted to prove to you that she could play dirty if she had to,” Violet slid an envelope across the desk, “Those are the actual divorce documents.  They were set to be sent out today, I had no idea you were going to stop by, but it is a pleasure to hand deliver these for once.  You are welcome to read them and sign them now if you want.”

“She had no plans to back off no matter what did she?”

“I don’t know what she has going on in her mind, but she did seem somewhat set when I spoke with her the other day.  These documents are straight forward.  She is not asking for anything, just an end to the marriage with an attempt to keep it all in our court system so it is not put in the public filings in LA or Boston.  She does not want it in the paper or the public record for your name to be caught up in the gossip columns for being divorced when no one knew you were married.”

“She’s anxious about that?”

“Yeah, seems she is more concerned about your name and career than anything else.”

“Why is she so worried about me?  Look, I need your help, Violet.”

“While she has a misguided way of showing it, that girl is in love with you and cares deeply for you.  But Chris, I can’t play both sides of the fence, it’s a conflict of interest.”

“Yeah, but listen to me.  I love her, I mean I really do, and I need her to see it and believe it.  She can’t get it through her head that I don’t care what everyone else thinks because she is the only one that matters.  I need you to help me delay this just so I can try to make her see it.”

“Go on, I’ll at least hear you out.”

“Don’t tell her I came to see you and let her think you mailed the paperwork.  I can hold her off on my end, I have meetings, or I want lawyers to read it, something.”

“You are desperately trying to make this work, isn’t the actor always trying to get rid of the unwanted marriage?”

“See, that’s the thing, to me this isn’t unwanted.  She’s it, Violet, she’s the one for me.  I know, you think I’m crazy just like she does but when I met her I knew,”  he started to walk toward her office door, “Please just give me a few days, that’s all I ask.  I’ll email you my contact information when I get home.  I just need to sweep her off her feet.”

“Damn, you want to be her Prince Charming!”

“Well, Captain America is a Disney Prince you know,” he said with a smile as he walked out of her office. 

~ * ~

Daisy locked up the shop and started the drive home, she checked her phone and thought it was odd that she had not heard from Chris at all during the day.  She hadn’t seen him either; he hadn’t walked around town or gotten himself arrested or anything.  Surely he didn’t stay locked up in the house all day.  Then she started thinking that maybe he was going to surprise her with dinner, and she began to get excited.

But her hopes were dashed when she pulled up and noticed his rental car was gone.  She opened the house, and as she walked in the door, she saw a note and the house key on the kitchen counter.

“Daisy,

“I’m not sure how much more fight I have in me.  As hard as I am fighting for us, you are equally fighting against us.  I had hoped we could talk it out last night and get to the bottom of it, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.  I wish my love were enough…I’ve gone back to LA and will talk to you when I’m ready.

Chris.”

As Daisy read the words again, her heart began to ache for she had actually lost him.  But this is what it would feel like when she was divorced, and that is what she was trying to do.  If this is what it felt like, this might not be what she wanted after all.


	33. Moving On

The plane landed in LA and when he turned on his phone he was shocked to see that he didn’t have any messages.  He knew that Daisy was home from work by now, and she would have seen the note; he thought for sure she would have called him or at least texted.  But he did say that he would talk when he was ready, no way she was actually paying attention to that, right?

He exited the plane and went to the departures terminal where he had arranged for Scott to pick him up.  He found the car, tossed his bag in the back seat and got in the front without saying a word.  Scott just looked at him for a moment but didn’t say anything, he could tell from his brother’s body language that he didn’t want to talk so he wasn’t going to push it.

“Are you going to stare at me or drive me home?” Chris asked.

Scott started the car and carefully pulled away from the curb and began the drive toward the house in the Hollywood Hills.  They had not been on the road for more than five minutes when Chris’ phone chimed, he hurried to check his text messages thinking it might be Daisy.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t, he ignored the message and put his phone back down.

Scott decided to dive in and break the silence, “So, are you going to tell me what happened?  Judging by your joyful mood, it must have been a great trip and a rousing success,” his sarcasm was a little over the top.

Chris gave him the brotherly death glare, “All you need to know is that I have new divorce papers in my bag, so I don’t think it is working out.  And before you ask, no, I’ve not told mom yet, and I will probably just make one call to tell her I’m married and getting divorced.”

Scott glanced over at Chris and down at his hand, “So you already took off your wedding ring?  Damn, you gave in quick on that.”

“I never had a ring – I just bought a ring for Daisy.  I kind of thought that I would get one and we could have a small ceremony with our families, but since she won’t discuss it with me, I’m not going to worry about it.”

“Have you not talked to mom at all?  I mean since the premiere?”

“Yeah, I’ve talked to her, I just leave out any discussion of Daisy.  Can we please not do this?  I’m really not in the mood for your jokes at my expense.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it isn’t working out.  I really like Daisy, and I know you love her.  I saw Zach, and he showed me the video; you two looked so happy when you were exchanging vows.  Have you at least shared that with her?”

“No, I’m not sure she would want to see it.  I don’t know if it would really matter at this point.”

Scott could tell that his brother was dejected, but he could also sense that he had not completely given up either, “You have something planned don’t you?  I mean you aren’t actually throwing in the towel on this are you?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Because you don’t just give up, and you checked your phone hoping it was her.  You aren’t just letting this go.”

“Right now, I’m letting it go.  I told her last night, I don’t have much fight left in me,”  Chris stared out the window watching the landscape fly past them, “I’m tired of being the only one fighting on my end.  I’m fighting to save something that she is fighting so hard to end.  So, I’m going to let her think she has won for now.  Let her think I am done fighting and she is getting her divorce.”

“Wow, that is cold-hearted and evil.  Why didn’t you just sign the papers and walk away then?  I mean you could have done that and then just tried to win her favor some other time.”

“I’m not giving up entirely, Scott.  She isn’t actually winning, I’m just letting her think she is.  She needs to miss me, that’s all.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Oh, she will trust me, she will.”

“You sound awfully damn full of yourself.”

“Maybe, but Princess wants me to attempt to sweep her off her feet, and it won’t work if she sees the broom,” he said turning to look at his brother, “I have a plan, but I need some time to put it in motion.”

“Ah, so you do have some romance in you?  And here you play in all your interviews like you are not a romantic guy!” Chris started to laugh, his first real laughter in some time.  This entire situation with Daisy had been so much harder than he had expected.  “Yeah, well we shall see; hold off your judgment on that until we see if I can pull this off.  Have you talked to her lately?”

“She texted me several days ago to get your address, but that’s it.  I realize now that it was so she could send you the papers, but I didn’t know that at the time.  I should call her and give her shit about that.”

“Well, do what you want but don’t be too hard on her.  All I ask is that you don’t tell her anything about me.  I’m serious, Scott, I don’t want you telling her anything at all.  You can tell her you drove me home from the airport, but I wouldn’t talk to you about any of this.”

“Why?  I can’t tell her you’re tore up about it?”

“No, I don’t want her to know anything at all.  I would rather her be in the dark.”

 “Ok, got it.  Tell your wife nothing.”

The remainder of the drive was silent, and Chris stared out the window.  He had to be strong about this, he didn’t want to do this to her, but he had to make her believe he was done.  She is the one who wanted him out of her life, he needed her to see it was the wrong decision, and this could be the way to make that happen.  He knew that her parents and her friends wanted them to be together he just needed her to open her damn eyes and see it for herself.  The problem was, it was going to tear him apart as much as it was her. 

When Scott pulled into his driveway, his phone chimed, and he checked the message.  This time, it was from Melody.

I can’t believe you left her without a goodbye, I may have to rethink #TeamChris

The hashtag brought a smile to his lips, even though he knew she was serious and she was not happy.  He quickly sent a text back.

I know, I’m sorry – All I can tell you is that I have not given up on my marriage, despite the note. 

He could see that Melody was typing a response, and he was sure she was going to rip into him, he hurried and grabbed his bag from the backseat and thanked Scott for the ride.  He asked if his brother was coming in but he declined.  As he opened the front door, his phone chimed and then almost immediately began to ring.

He quickly answered without looking at the caller ID, “Hello.”

“She’s in the shower so I thought I would call.  Explain yourself because right now I’m not happy with you.”

“Is she upset?”

“That’s a stupid question, what do you think?”

“I don’t believe that it’s a stupid question, Melody.  She was argumentative when I was there and has been telling me she wants to divorce me so I’m gone, she should be thrilled.”

“She’s not, Chris.  I don’t think she realized what it would really mean if you were gone – I mean really gone.  I believe she liked the banter and the back and forth, but I don’t think she honestly expected you would leave.”

“I poured my heart out last night and let her know that I was hopelessly in love with her, and I got her questioning why I haven’t told my mother that we’re married.  Not exactly the response I was expecting.  She didn’t tell me she had the same feelings. Instead, she questioned why I married her so quickly when I didn’t marry any of my other girlfriends that I had been with longer.”

“Ouch!  Really?  She said that?”

“Yeah, she did.  I called her Princess and told her it was hard to sweep her off her feet when her heels are dug into the ground.  So, she told me to get to sweeping and that is what I aim to do.”

“She issued you a challenge, and you aren’t backing down?”

“Hell no, I’m not backing down, but I am okay with her thinking I am.  I left her and will let her think I am giving her what she wants.  She can’t realize we are perfect for one another if she doesn’t miss me, right?”

“Oh, that is purely evil.  But, I have to admit that I like it,” Melody walked over toward the bedroom door to see if the water was still running.  “Look, she will be getting out of the shower soon.   I will talk to you later.  I promise I won’t tell her I've spoken to you, but you might want to give her parents a heads up.  I can text you their numbers.”

“I have them already, they gave them to me when I went out there the other day.”

“You should at least call Tom, he needs to know what you have going on.  Daisy will cry on his shoulder and if he thinks you hurt his little girl he wouldn’t forgive you.”

“I’ll call him, just be there for her and take care of her.  I don’t want to do this, Melody, it is breaking my heart but she is too damned hard-headed, and this is the only way I can think of to slap some sense into her.”

“I’m going to trust you, but if this backfires, I’m coming after you.”

Chris smiled, he could appreciate the fact that she was looking out for her best friend, “Ok, deal.”

The two hung up, and Chris collapsed on his couch.  It was only after he hung up that he realized that during the entire phone call he had been pacing across his living room.  This was going to be a long night, he had already been thinking about Daisy and why she hadn’t tried to reach out and then to have Melody call and tell him she was upset.  Well, that was making him think that maybe this was a bad idea.

He reached for his phone and dialed the number for Thomas Proctor.  Melody had a point, he needed to get in front of this with Mr. Proctor before Daisy went crying to her parents.  He needed them to understand what he was trying to do.  The phone rang several times before it was finally answered.

“This is Thomas Proctor, can I help you?”  He sounded so professional and serious when he answered the phone.

“Mr. Proctor, this is Chris, Chris Evans, do you have a moment to talk?”

“Hi Chris, yes, I had to step into the other room to take the call.  I have a few folks at the house, and I didn’t want to let on as to who was on the line.  I hope you understand.”

“I do, sir.  I am sorry to do this, but I needed to call and let you know that I left Daisy unexpectantly today.  I tried to talk to her last night, tried to get to the bottom of some of our issues and make her realize how much I love her and that I want this marriage to work.  Try to get through to her that she has no reason to be scared or worried. Unfortunately, she doesn’t want to listen to anything I have to say.  She tenses up and throws up obstacles and starts battles that I am starting to get tired of fighting.  The more I fight to save the marriage the harder she fights to end it.”

“She is digging in her heels isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is, and I even said that.  I told her it was hard to sweep her off her feet with her heels dug into the ground,”  Chris took a deep breath, “I meant every word I said to you and your wife.  I do adore your daughter, but I think I need her to miss me and see what she would lose without me in her life.  This is a big gamble on my part, but I want to sweep her off her feet, and I can’t do it if she sees the broom coming.”

“Well, that is certainly one way to look at it.  So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I have an idea, but I need to work on it.  I may reach out and ask for your help, but I know she is going to come to you and cry on your shoulder that I left her.  I just didn’t want you to think that I told you one thing and did another – I’m not that kind of man.  I want that woman in my life, I just need her to want me.”

“I know she has already told her mother that you left, but she didn’t give any details.  I suspect I will be getting the details tomorrow when she comes for dinner; she said she wasn’t ready to talk about it tonight.”

“So, she called to tell you but said she didn’t want to talk about it?”  Chris asked, sounding somewhat confused.

“Oh, no nothing like that.  Martha called and invited the two of you out for dinner tonight and Daisy told her that you couldn’t make it because you left her and she wasn’t ready to talk about it.”


	34. He's Gone

When Daisy had walked into the house and saw the note on the kitchen counter, her heart began to race.  When she read his words, “I wish my love were enough, I’ve gone back to LA and will talk to you when I’m ready,” she was acutely aware of the blood rushing in her ears, and the room began to spin.  The next thing she could remember was waking up on the floor, and her head was bleeding a little.  She quickly realized she had passed out and hit her head on the counter on her way down.  By looking at her watch, she realized she had been out for about 20 minutes.

She pulled herself up and tended to the cut on her head and stretched out on the couch.  The same place she laid the night before with her head resting in her husband’s lap.  There it was, that word – husband.  She hated that word, why couldn’t he just be her boyfriend?  Why couldn’t things just go back to the relatively uncomplicated scenario of their life before Vegas?  Of course, who was she kidding?  They had been dating for two weeks before Vegas, and they had not been in the same city or the same time zone.  Hell, they had not even been in the same country!  No attempt had been made to have a regular dating life, and they could have failed at that. 

She was not insane; okay, maybe she was off-center just a little bit but not when it came to this.  She was rational.  He had not known her long enough to know she was ‘the one’ and that their life would be full of sunshine and rainbows.  He was delusional when it came to them having a happy marriage; that is all there was to it.  He had finally come to his senses and had decided to give her the divorce, and all would be right in the world.  But if that was the case, why did this hurt so much?  Why did it feel like her heart had been ripped out of her body?  Why did she ache so deeply and thoroughly?

She picked up the phone and started to text him and stopped.  He didn’t want to talk to her so she needed to have some control and not speak to him.  Instead, she listened to a voicemail he had left her a few days ago; she just wanted to hear the deep timbre of his voice.  She needed it to calm her heart; she listened to it three times.

She then dialed Melody’s number, she was able to choke out the words that she needed to talk and asked her to come over.  Within minutes, her best friend was at her door with a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a jar of hot fudge, and a can of whipped cream.

“What is going on that you called me all upset?”  Melody asked as she walked into the house and began looking around, “And where is Chris?”  This made the tears start to flow all over again for Daisy, and suddenly Melody realized he was the reason for the desperate phone call.  “Daisy, did something happen between you two?”

Daisy nodded her head and moved toward the counter to retrieve the note.  Handing it to Melody, she said, “He left and went back to LA.  I think he is going to sign the divorce papers, and I have lost him for good.”

“Well, that is what you wanted, right?  I mean you have been saying all week you wanted a divorce.”

“I know that is what I said, but I don’t think I really meant it,” she admitted.

“Ok, let me tackle this in small doses so I can digest and understand.  Do you love Chris, I mean really love him and not just have a crush on him because he is an actor and you think he is dreamy?”

Daisy didn’t answer verbally, she just nodded her head.

“Are you scared of him?  I mean him, not his fans or his family but are you scared of him.”

Again, no verbal answer but she shook her head to indicate that she was not scared of him.

“You are terrified of his fans, right?  And you are terrified of his mom?”

If Daisy nodded her head any harder, she would give herself a concussion.

“Daisy, is there more to this than you are telling me?”

She stood from the couch and began to pace the living room, the idea of opening up to any of this was terrifying.  “If I open up to you, I need you to promise me that you won’t tell him any of this.  I know he came to see you, and I am sure he will call you, or you will call him, but I mean it Mel – this stays between us.”

She could tell that Daisy was serious, and she was actually a little worried about what her friend was going to admit, “Absolutely, stays between us.  You can trust me.”

“I know it will sound stupid, but I’ve never had anyone love me like he does.  I mean my parents love me without question because they are my parents.  It scares me that he loves me so much and then you layer that with his fans and I don’t even want to begin to worry about his mom and his sisters,”  her steps became heavier as she moved from one side of the living room to the other.

“Wait, you are freaking out because of how much he loves you?  That makes no fucking sense!”

Daisy stopped and just stared at her friend, “Sure it does, I mean what if he fell in love so fast and he falls out of love even faster?  He met me at a movie premiere and an after party, and weeks later I am married to him.  This makes no sense, and he acts like he can’t live without me.  He dated what's her name off and on for years and never married her.”

“Did you think that maybe he never married her because she wasn’t the right one for him?  Maybe she was nothing more than a diversion when he needed it.”

“Melody!  Oh my goodness, how can you say that?”

“Is part of this, maybe most of this, because you didn’t get to wear that dress?”

“What dress?”

“The one that you have stashed in the back of the store?  I remember when that dress came in – you were dating Michael, and you put that dress on the mannequin and stared at it for days.  Then you finally got up the nerve to try it on and when it fit and you felt like a Princess you refused to put it back on the mannequin. Don’t tell me you don’t remember that?”

“I didn’t keep it, I put it back out to sell,” she said shifting her eyes toward the opposite wall; unable to make eye contact with her friend at that moment.

“You can’t lie to me, that dress is still in the storeroom, and I am surprised Chris didn’t see it when you two were working back there yesterday.  Or did he and you dodged a question or two about it?”

“I am disappointed that I had a wedding that I don’t remember, I will admit that and will admit that it is a tremendous part of the equation with Chris.  I have nothing to remember it by; no pictures or mementos and I had no reception where I had friends and family to dance or have fun with.  No tossing of the bouquet or tossing of the garter.   I had none of the romance that I sell for a living, and I want that so much.”

“And it never dawned on you to sit that man down and tell him this?  It never crossed your mind to tell him that you wanted to have a traditional wedding to go along with your non-traditional ceremony?”  Melody let her questions linger for a moment and gave her friend time to respond, but when she didn’t she fired back at her.  “Daisy, when Chris sat with me yesterday morning, it was clear as could be that he is head over heels for you and would do anything to make this work.  You could have told him you wanted a real wedding, and he would have done it for you.”

“He would have thought I was insane.”

“First, you don’t know that and second, even if he thought you were crazy, he would have done it for you because he would give you whatever you want.”

“It doesn’t matter now, he made his decision.  He gave up and went back to LA,” she started pacing again and this time her steps were softer, and she was walking slower. “He’s right you know, I fought him every bit as hard as he was fighting me.  I am too hard-headed for my own good.”

“You can fix this if you want; give him a day or two to lick his wounds and feel like a big man for walking away.  But you can call him and tell him you want to make this work.”

“You mean go crawling back to him?”

“Daisy, think of it like that if you must but if you want him back, you need to do it.  Tell him you are an idiot because let’s face it, you are!  Tell him you miss him and you’ve realized the error of your ways, and you want to fix it.  He will take you back and isn’t that what you want?  Don’t let your ego get in the way.”

Daisy stopped pacing and fell to the floor, she put her head in her hands and began to cry.  The first real tears she had shed over this entire situation.  Melody didn’t move to comfort her, she knew Daisy needed to get this out, but when she saw her shoulders shaking and knew that whole body wracking sobs had started, she moved to comfort her.

After a few moments, Daisy sat up and dried her face, “I didn’t want to do that, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it isn’t a sign of weakness you know.  You have come to the realization that you might have lost someone who would have made you happy, no matter how improbable that relationship seems.  I think shedding a tear and being upset is entirely natural.”

Daisy stood up and walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator, “Mel, do you want a beer?”  When she declined, Daisy came back into the living room and took a seat on the couch, “I need to figure out what my next step is and just move on.  Decide and do versus sit around and mope.”

“I think you need to go and take a shower and pull yourself together, then get some sleep.  I’ll stick around just in case you need me, but I think maybe going to bed and sleeping on it might be your best bet.”

Daisy nodded in agreement and stood to leave the room, as she was getting ready to walk into the bedroom she turned back to her friend, “When I get out of the shower will you help me change the sheets on my bed?  I don’t want to sleep in the bed that smells like him, I don’t think I can handle that, not tonight.”

“Sure, I can do that for you,” Melody replied.  And as Daisy disappeared into the bedroom she reached for her phone because Chris was about to get a piece of her mind.

~ * ~

When Melody hung up the phone with Chris, she pulled the sheets from the bed and had started headed for the linen closet to get a clean set of sheets.  As she was doing this, Daisy came out of the bathroom all dressed for bed.  When she noticed the bed sheets off of the bed, it set off the waterworks again, and the tears began to slowly fall down her cheek. 

“Daisy, I’m sorry I thought you said you wanted to change the sheets on the bed,” Melody remarked somewhat horrified because she thought she had misunderstood what her friend had wanted.

“No, you’re right, this is what I wanted,” she said as she helped pull the new fitted sheet over the corner of the mattress.  “I appreciate you helping, I do.”

Melody walked over and gave her best friend a hug, “I cleaned up for you and put the sheets in the washer, just put them in the dryer in the morning.  You need to try and get some sleep and maybe in the morning you can have a clear mind to decide what you want to do.”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

“I’ll lock up on my way out, and I’ll call you tomorrow,” and with those words Melody walked out of the bedroom and then let herself out of the house.

 


	35. Not so Happy Anniversary

The alarm sounded, and Daisy slowly rolled over to turn it off.  She found it was hard to move, her body was stiff, and that meant she had stayed in position all night long.  Amazingly enough, when Melody left, she had fallen asleep rather quickly.  She had anticipated she would toss and turn and have trouble shutting her brain off; however, her eyes were heavy from crying and her heart hurt from his leaving so she guessed that sleep came quickly because of that.

Since she had anticipated spending today with Chris, so she had asked Kimberly to work in the store for her.  This meant she didn’t have to get ready and go in and for once this was a blessing  She didn’t think she could look at a happy bride-to-be and match her enthusiasm like her job dictated.  No, today she would have a hard time looking at bridal gowns and telling a woman that she will make such a lovely bride.  No, today she was cynical and jaded.

Her long tresses were a mess from going to bed with her hair damp.  She quickly ran a brush through her hair and then pulled it up into a ponytail, this immediately made her think back to the morning she left Vegas and how quickly she ran out of the room.  Damn, why did every memory have to lead back to Chris?  She quickly dressed and then went on the search for her phone.  She found it in the living room, Melody had been kind enough to plug it in so it would charge but kept it in the other room so it would not bother her during the night.

She stared at the darkened phone and considered checking it for messages.  She knew there wouldn’t be any, but she wanted to look anyway.  Instead, she sat the phone down and went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee and made a bowl of cereal.  Tried to focus on it being a typical day.  Unfortunately, curiosity got the better of her, and she ran back into the living room, picking up the phone and swiping it on to confirm there were no messages.  She felt like the knife in her gut was twisting just a little more.

After breakfast and knowing she was able to keep it down and not make herself sick, she decided to call Violet.  She knew that it was Saturday, and her attorney was entitled to a day off, but she had not had a chance to fill her in on the latest information.  She thought maybe she would text her instead of calling, that way if Violet was sleeping in she wouldn’t wake her.  Within two minutes of sending the text, the phone rang.

“Hi, Violet, I didn’t wake you with the text did I?”

“No, I was up.  What’s going on Daisy?”  Violet was uneasy about this call, she was not sure if she cold keep up any charade like Chris wanted.

“Have you sent the divorce papers to Chris yet?  You know, the real ones?”

“Yeah, I sent them out, and they were delivered to his house yesterday,” Violet figured a white lie wouldn’t hurt.  Daisy didn’t need to know that he had them hand delivered yesterday.

“Oh, okay,” the disappointment was very apparent in her voice.

“Is something wrong, Daisy?  I thought that is what you wanted?”

“He was here, in town, he came in after he received the annulment papers.  He was not happy about those, by the way.”

“I didn’t know, I could have brought the documents to you, we could have settled it all with him in town,” she was trying to make it sound as if this was all news to her.

“He wanted to stop it all you know.  He doesn’t want to get divorced, and I just kept arguing with him and wouldn’t stop.”

“Did something happen?  You have me a little worried,” Violet replied.

“He went back to LA, and I realized that I don’t want a divorce after all.  Violet, I’m scared he is going to sign the paperwork, and I don’t want him to, I want to stop this, and I don’t know how.”

She tried to suppress a smile because he knew this would happen when he was in her office yesterday, “You need to call him and tell him that you feel this way.”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Daisy admitted.

Violet thought this was funny and she could either tell Daisy the truth or she could string this out.  The truth was that even if Chris signed the papers, Daisy had to sign to make them legal and to finalize them; so actually Daisy held the upper hand in this entire scenario.  But Violet didn’t want to tell her that because it would not push her to tell him her feelings; no, it was better to make her believe that everything hinged on Chris’ signature.  “Daisy, you need to determine how bad you want him in your life.  If you can’t live without him, you need to call him and tell him the truth.  If you can get through each day without him, then by all means, let him sign the documents and return them and be done with it.”

Daisy let out an exasperated sigh and thanked Violet for her advice and hung up the phone.  She then got dressed, brushed her teeth, put on some makeup, and quickly checked the balance on her credit card.  She grabbed her keys and her purse and headed out to the car.  Before pulling out of the driveway, she made one quick phone call to Kimberly to make sure she was all set in the store and that there were no issues.  She let her know she was making a trip into the city for a few things and would be unavailable for a while, but she would stop by in the late afternoon.

~ * ~

Melody walked into the bridal store shortly after it opened, approaching Kimberly who was working near the back counter.  “I need your help, but you have to do this quietly, and you have to play dumb when it hits the fan.”

Kimberly looked at her with utter confusion on her face, “Will this get me fired?”

“Probably not but right now we can blame everything on Chris!”  Melody said with a mischevious smile, “There is a dress in the back, it is in a black garment bag, Justin Alexander designer gown, can you go and pull it for me?  It doesn’t have a customer name on it.”

“Oh, you mean the dress that Daisy has been hiding?”

“So you know about that, too?”

“Oh yeah, she swears she isn’t hiding it, but I know she is. She has said that she isn’t but it was on display and now it isn’t.  That dress is gorgeous, #8854.  She told me no one would come in looking for it and that if anyone did I could sell it but that no one would.”

“Oh this is perfect, give it to me but if she asks for it tell her someone came in to buy it.  We can worry about the money later, but I need that dress to be gone.  I need to hide it at my house, and we need to see how long it takes for her to realize it is gone.”

“Mel, does this have something to do with the guy she has been all worked up about?  I have heard bits and pieces, but I don’t know what is going on.”

“Let’s just say it does and tell you that the less you know, the better off you are.”

Kimberly nodded and went into the back, returning a few minutes later with the Justin Alexander garment bag.  Melody almost felt bad for doing this but knew it was the right thing to do; deep down she knew that Daisy would appreciate this one day.

~ * ~

Daisy pulled her car into the parking spot in front of the small building on the outskirts of the city.  The little store looked like a Bavarian store that belonged on the cobbled streets of Germany.  The store was a well-known jewelry store in the area, but it didn’t do a lot of advertising, it didn’t need to.  Their quality and craftsmanship spoke for themselves.  Daisy had actually tried to model her store after this one; in the sense that she wanted a store that people could count on for quality and customer service. 

She walked in and began looking through the cases, trying to find exactly what she wanted.  As she found just the right case, she was approached by a clerk asking if he could assist.  Daisy blushed, not sure she could go through with this, but decided that she had nothing to lose; none of these people knew her.

“I am looking to purchase a wedding band for my husband,” she said all too quickly, “Sorry, let me try this again.  My husband and I eloped, and we did not get him a ring.  I would like to surprise him and get him a ring for our anniversary, and I want it to be special.”

The clerk smiled and looked down at her left hand, taking careful notice of her ring, “Your ring is quite lovely, is that platinum?”

Daisy had taken care to put her ring on this morning before leaving the house, knowing that she would get stares if she mentioned she was married but not wearing a ring.  “Thank you, yes it is platinum.  I am not sure if I have to purchase platinum for him or does it matter?  He wears a St. Christopher’s medal, and it is silver, so I only know I want to stay away from yellow gold.”

“Well, we have palladium, titanium, and platinum as options and I would stay away from yellow and white gold.  Do you have a price point that you want to stay within?”

“I would like to see what you have before I give you a price point, but I can say that I cannot afford thousands for the ring.”

“Very well, I understand.  Give me a moment, I have a ring that I think would be a nice price point and would be an excellent companion to your ring,” the clerk stepped down a case and picked out a ring and walked back over to her.  “This ring is palladium, rarer than gold and the epitome of elegance.  This ring is polished with a raised matte center band and is very stylish and classic.”

She took the ring from the clerk and had to admit it was a beautiful ring, and she was almost afraid to ask for the price.  “How am I supposed to know what size ring to get?”

“Does your husband currently wear rings of any sort?”

“No, sadly the only jewelry he wears is the St. Christopher’s medal.”

The clerk asked several questions about Chris’ measurements, including his shoe size, and made an educated guess as to his ring size.  He also told him that should the ring need to be resized, it could be adjusted without a problem.  All she had to do was bring it in along with the receipt, and he could get it sized accordingly.  The price of the ring was a little more than she had anticipated but was still within her price range.

She purchased the ring and placed it in her purse before leaving the store.   She got in the car and began driving back home; she pulled into a parking spot in front of the bridal store and was going to go in and check on Kimberly.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t bring herself to go inside.  She decided to head on home instead and figured she would just call her and check on her later.

She went into the house and put the ring for Chris on the dresser and took her ring off and put it next to his.  She went over and collapsed on the bed and pulled out her phone.  She knew she should not be doing this, but he had been on her mind all day, and she would not forgive herself if she did not do this.  She quickly typed out a message and hit send before she could stop herself.

I wanted to send you a message and tell you Happy Anniversary – not sure what the appropriate gift is for making it through an entire week.

She wasn’t anticipating that he would respond, but within five minutes she had a chime that he had sent a text back to her.  The text, however, was not playful or fun.

I got your gift, the divorce papers – spending the evening reading them and will give to my lawyer next week

She elected not to respond; she wasn’t going to dive into the mud and get into an argument with him.  He was baiting her, and she was not going to fall for it; at least not tonight.   She called her mother and told her that she had changed her mind about coming to dinner and had decided to stay at home.  Her mother asked if she could do anything and Daisy said no, she just wanted some time alone for now.

~ * ~

Scott had been at his brother’s house all day trying to keep him occupied and hoping to keep him from dwelling on how everything had changed in the last two days.  Chris wanted no part of it, he preferred to stay on the couch and mindlessly flip through the TV channels. 

“Just pick up the phone and call her, that is what you want to do, so do it,” Scott finally said to break the monotony.

“No, I told you I’m not calling her.”

“So, instead, you’re going to drive me insane with your sad little mood?”

“You can leave, I’m not holding you hostage here.”

Chris bolted upright when he heard his phone chime, he had a message, and he wanted to get to it immediately.  Scott noticed how his eyes lit up so he figured the message had to be from Daisy.

“What did she say, Chris?”

He didn’t respond right away, but he typed a response and hit send.  He tossed the phone over to Scott to let him read the message because he wasn’t sure he could read it out loud.

As Scott read the message the anger started to boil inside of him; now he was mad at his brother.  “You’re an ass!  She was sweet to say Happy Anniversary, and you had to be an ass with your response back?  You fucking mope around here because you want her to come back to you and when it looks like maybe she is coming around you have to be rude.”

Scott threw the phone back at Chris as he got up and started to walk towards the back door.  “Where are you going, Scott?”

“I’m going to call my sister-in-law to see how she is doing because my brother is an idiot and I’m pretty sure she is upset right now.”

“Don’t tell her you know what I said,” Chris was stern in his response to his brother, “And for the record, I don’t like what I did.”

This made Scott turn around, “Then why did you do it?”

“I had to, I have to make her think I am not coming back, and I can’t achieve what I want after one day.”

“You are acting like this is some movie script, and you already know the ending.”

“I do know the ending, Scott because I’m the one writing the script.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve practically got her entire hometown working on her.  Don’t worry little brother, I’ve got this.  Now, you have to help me with mom.”

“You are playing with fire, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, and I realize this could blow up in my face, but I need that wall of her’s to crumble and after a day, it is only starting to crack.”

 

 


	36. Back Home in Boston

Several days had passed since Daisy had bought the ring for Chris and every day she would look at it and wonder if she had done the right thing in buying it.  She had not heard from Chris since his terse reply on their anniversary.  She had heard from Scott, he had called her that night to see how she was.  He had not talked to her in so long, and he wanted to know how things were.  She had a feeling he knew more than he was letting on but she wasn’t going to push and ask.  The bond between the brothers was tight, and she knew that Scott would not betray Chris, no matter what.

Daisy had to go back to work, and that had not been easy to do.  Kimberly was more than willing to work, but she had finals and graduation and couldn’t come in this week.  Daisy also knew that with Kimberly getting her degree, that she would be getting a ‘real’ job in the city, and she will lose the help she was starting to enjoy having.  For the first time, Daisy was beginning to consider closing the shop.  With everything that was going on with Chris, the shop was just taking too much out of her.  And she hated to admit it, but maybe her mother was right; maybe she wasn’t living up to her potential.  She could sell the shop, sell her house, move to a different city and go back to college.

She had dinner with her parents the night before and had told them everything that had happened.  For the first time, she was honest with them about her feelings for Chris and how she was sure she had ruined quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to her.  She admitted that she loved him, and it was more than just a silly fangirl crush.  She had pushed back against the marriage because was scared and she was equally terrified that he had never told his mother about her or the fact that they had gotten married.  She also admitted that she was far too romantic and hated that she didn’t remember her wedding and to top it off she got married in short pink dress and not a traditional wedding gown.

Her parents listened carefully, nodding when appropriate but not making any comments.  They sat side-by-side on the couch, holding hands and when they would her Daisy say something that touched their hearts, they would squeeze each other’s hand.  They had both talked to Chris over the phone within the last few days, and they knew what he had planned.  They knew he was still desperately in love with their daughter – the thing was, he had no idea how much she was in love with him.  He had stuck by his decision to not talk to her, and they knew it was killing him.  Part of the reason Chris kept calling them was so that he could ask about Daisy; he knew they wouldn’t judge him or make fun of him for asking about her.  But it did put them in a very awkward position to listen to their daughter cry over this man and think he was gone forever.

~ * ~

Chris and Scott had flown home to Boston to see their mom.  Lisa Evans was not expecting her boys to come home so she was a little concerned when they walked in.  When her boys fly in from California, together, unannounced, well it can’t be good.  She stared at them both while they dropped their bags and hugged their nephews and niece.  The kids were not suspicious of their uncles coming home, they thought it was great and knew that it meant piggyback rides and lots of attention.

Chris put Stella down and walked over to his mom, kissing her on the cheek and giving her a warm embrace, “Hi, ma aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Hello, Christopher,” she said, wrapping her arms around her eldest son, “What kind of trouble are you in?”

“Oh you wound me, ma,” he pretended to sound dejected and hurt as he stepped back, “I can’t just come home to see my favorite parent?”

“You brought Scott with you, which means you need reinforcements, which tells me you have news, and you need a buffer.”

“She knows you too well, Chris,” Scott chided as he stepped up to kiss and hug his mother.

“Fine, yeah, I need to talk to you, but I don’t want to do it with the kids around,” he said looking around the room, “Is Carly home?”

“No, she and Ryan are running a few errands and will be back later.”

“Scott, would watch the kids for a little bit?”  Chris asked. Honestly, he was pleading with his brother.

“Yeah, go, I got this.”

Chris and his mother walked into her office, just off the foyer of the family home, he shut the glass French doors behind him and took a deep breath.  He didn’t turn around, he didn’t think he could start to tell her this if he looked at her, “Ma, I need to tell you about a relationship that I’m in.”

“You’re not turning around, Chris.  This means that something is seriously wrong with this – she’s underage?  Oh God, please tell me she’s legal, Chris!”

He slowly shook his head, “She’s legal ma, she’s only a year or two younger than I am.”

“Then you got her pregnant?  Is that it?”

“No, at least I don’t think she’s pregnant.  Fuck, I never gave that any thought and maybe I should ask because I swear we never did use protection and never gave it a second thought.”

“Christopher!  Didn’t I raise you better than that?”

With those words he finally turned around and slid down the doors, coming to rest on the floor, resting his arms on his knees.  “I met a woman at the LA premiere of Civil War; she won a contest that Marvel had put on.  I actually sat next to her during the movie, and I knew, ma, I knew she was the one.  I fell for her, just like that.  She was really shy and a little nervous around all of us but at the party afterward she started to open up, of course, that was after I supplied her with some liquid courage.”

“You’re telling me you met a girl and in the process of a few hours fell head over heels in love with her?  Chris, this sort of thing, doesn’t happen.”

“I know, I realize it is ridiculous sounding.  She had enough to drink at the party that she wasn’t shy any longer, and she asked me to go to Disney with her the next day.”

“And we know you never turn down a Disney invite,” she said, laughing.

“I know, right?  So, Scott went with us, and we had a great time, and I tried not to fall for her, but it was no use.  We had dinner, and when it came time to say goodnight, I didn’t want the night to end.”

“You slept with her?”

“No, I didn’t!  That’s the thing, I liked her enough that I didn’t want to ruin it, how fucked up is that?”  His mother was shocked at his admission and gave him the look to indicate that she wanted him to continue.  “We exchanged numbers, and we talked while I was on the press tour overseas, and then I took her to Vegas when we got back.”

“Oh no, I know where this is going now.  You married her, didn’t you?”  Lisa Evans vaulted out of her chair, “Damnit, Chris what in the hell were you thinking?”  Her voice was raised, and he could feel the vibration of her voice through the glass that he was leaning against.

He hung his head, he knew she was angry, and he was aware that this was going to be her reaction.  He didn’t say anything right away, he knew better.  Let her be angry and let her work through her emotions before opening himself up to the tirade he would unleash if he spoke too soon.  She began pacing back and forth behind the desk, and he knew that it would be safe to say something.

“We were the witnesses for Zach and Shannon’s wedding on that Saturday night, and evidently we got the crazy notion to do it ourselves.  We ended up partying afterward and getting drunk that we didn’t remember we had done it.  She left on Sunday morning, and we didn’t realize we were married until Monday; after we had gone our separate ways.”  He watched for her reaction and she didn’t have one, she kept pacing and glancing over at him as if she wanted him to just keep talking.

“I know you will find this hard to believe, but I love her, and I regret none of it.”

This was when she stopped, “I take it that she does?”

Once again he hung his head, “Yeah, since she discovered we are married she has been fighting me to get divorced.  She wants to get an annulment or a divorce, anything to get us out of the marriage and quick.”

“Well, at least one of you is thinking correctly!  Divorce her and get it over with – has she served you with papers?”

Chris was finally at the point where he was ready to stand up and argue with his mother over this, “Yes, I have divorce papers and no, I’m not going to sign them.  Are you not hearing me?  I’m in love with her, this isn’t a flash in the pan or some puppy love sort of thing, I am hopelessly in love with her.”

“You have no prenup, Chris, and you didn’t marry her in a church wedding before God, get out of this marriage while you have a chance.  Please tell me she isn’t going after any of your money.”

“We might not have had a big Catholic wedding, Ma but we are just as married in my heart and in the eyes of God as if we had.  You aren’t going to make me change my mind about that.  I said forever to her, and I meant it – I am not giving up, and I am fighting her to stay married.  I know she loves me, and I am telling you I love her.  She is not a gold digger, and I would not make her sign a prenup even if we were doing this all over again.  She’s my wife, and I won’t let you talk about her that way.  She isn’t using me for my money, she isn’t that type of girl.”

“If she loves you why does she want a divorce, at least answer me that.”

“She is scared, we happened so fast and the fact that as we were dating I never told you about her, that bothers her.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“I was out of the country, and she was too important for me to tell you about her over the phone.  And then when I saw her again after the press tour we accidently got married, and I’ve been busy trying to save the marriage so it wasn’t real convenient to get to town to tell you.”

“What is my daughter in law’s name and why isn’t she here with you?”

Chris ran his hand over his face and through his hair, the stress showing in his actions.  “Her name is Daisy, Daisy Ann Proctor.  She is every bit as sweet as her name sounds, and she is perfect.  She isn’t here because as hard as I am fighting to save our marriage, she is fighting to end it, and I told her I don’t have any fight left; I walked out.”

“What?  Wait a minute, you did what?”  Lisa went back and sat down in her chair and just stared at her son in disbelief, “We are arguing over this, and you’re giving in and divorcing her anyway?”

“No, I’m not divorcing her, I’m letting her think I am so she will realize she wants me, and I can get her back.”

“You are awfully cocky, Chris.”

“Yeah, that’s what Scott said.  Look, her parents and her best friends, including her divorce attorney, are on my side.  They agree that we belong together, and they know she loves me and needs to get rid of the wall around her heart.  I’m trying to break it down, and part of that will have to be her knowing I told you.”

“I think you are insane, and you are letting the wrong part of your anatomy dictate your actions.”

“Don’t say that, ask Scott because he can tell you what she’s like and he can tell you what I’m like around her.  I’m going to get her back, and I’m going to have my happy ever after.”

“She’s not a Disney Princess, Chris.  I swear to you they are not real.”

“They are mom, and she is my Princess, and I’m going to make her understand that, and she will see I’m every bit her Prince Charming, too.”  He turned and walked out of her office, he was tired of arguing, and he was starting to get a headache.  He walked through the living room towards the kitchen and Scott just stared at him.  He recognized the look, pity – and that was the one thing he didn’t need right now.

 

 


	37. A Close Call

Daisy was starting to close up the shop for the night, Thursdays were not that busy so starting to wind down at 5:30 versus 6:00 was not that big of a deal.  She had already turned on the display lights and cashed out the drawer and locked up the safe.  She was going to be leaving right at 6:00 to go to dinner with the potential buyers for her store and if she was going to make the dinner reservation at 7:00 and deal with the traffic, she could not be held up.  Her phone rang, it was the gentleman she was meeting for dinner, he wanted to confirm they were still on.  She let him know she was ready to leave as soon as the store is closed and she confirmed the restaurant details.

As she was just starting to lock the door, Melody tried to enter the shop, “Mel, can I call you while I drive, I have an appointment, and I have to leave right now!”  Melody seemed a bit perplexed but agreed and walked away, “I promise, I’ll call you in a few minutes.”

Daisy locked the front door and then ran through the store to the back, setting the alarm and then locking the back door.  She got into her car and started it; it had been acting up lately and of course, it began to sputter as she took off.  She just prayed it would get her to dinner and on time.  Once she got on the two-lane highway, she dialed Melody’s number.

“Hi, Mel, sorry, I wasn’t trying to blow you off I have a meeting I am heading off to.”

“Where are you going?  I haven’t seen you in days, I’ve been worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’ve just been keeping a low profile that’s all.  With everything that has happened in the last few weeks, I just don’t feel like socializing.”

“Obviously, Tangie and Alexis have been asking about you. They heard about Chris, they are upset that you didn’t tell them.”

“How did they find out?”  She had a bit of panic as well as a bit of anger in her voice.

“Alexis heard about it down at the courthouse from the receptionist at the Sheriff’s office.  She told her about you coming in and getting Chris out of jail and dressing down Michael.  Then Alexis told Tangie and then they came into the café and told me.  By the way, you didn’t even tell me about that story!”

“Sorry, it happened right before Chris left and it wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on.  So they want all the gossip I guess?  I am sure they are dying to call the tabloids and say they know some scoop.”  She was angry and bitter, and she knew deep down that her friends would not do that to her.

“No, but they are concerned about you.  I did fill them in on how you and Chris met and what happened; including his leaving.  They are here for you and want to help in any way.”

“Have you talked to him, Mel?” 

“No, I haven’t,” this wasn’t entirely true, but she couldn’t tell Daisy everything.  She had promised Chris that she would keep it quiet, and she was sticking to that promise.  “So, have you?”

“No, I sent him a text on our one week anniversary and he sent me an ugly reply.  I haven’t texted or talked to him since.  I called Violet yesterday, and she said he hasn’t sent the divorce papers back yet.  I’m not calling and asking for them, I’m letting him go on his timetable right now.”

“Daisy, are you going to answer me?  Where are you going?  What meeting are you off to?”

“I have a business meeting in Springwood, so I had to rush out the door to get there on time.”

“Springwood?  What in the hell?  Daisy that is a long drive for you to do at night.”

“It is fine, I am almost here, and I will head straight home when I am done.  Thanks for checking on me, I’ll be okay, and I will talk to you soon,” Daisy hung up and pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.  She was early, luckily the traffic had been light, and she was able to maintain the speed limit and actually go a little over.  She had enough time to check her makeup and freshen her lipstick before going in for dinner.

~ * ~

Scott watched as Chris went into the kitchen and then he stepped into his mother’s office.  He could hear their voices raise as they argued but he couldn’t discern what they were saying.  He just kept playing with the kids; they didn’t seem to understand what was going on. 

Scott closed the door behind him, “Ma, are you and Chris going to be alright?”

“Have you really met this girl? What’s her name, Daisy?”

“Yeah, I have, and she is fantastic.  I told Chris the day I met her that he needed to marry her.  She is spunky and sweet, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  I kept asking him all day if he had a crush on her.”

“Where did he take her to dinner?”  Lisa figured that was a real sign of his level of interest.

“We ate at the park, and he pulled strings – we ate at Club 33.”

“Wow!  Ok, so he was smitten.  I just don’t think he could have fallen for her that quick.  Your brother has dated for years and has never wanted to settle down and now all of a sudden he is crazy about a girl and is fighting to stay married.  Come on Scott, you have to think this is weird.”

“I’m telling you, I’ve never seen him like this with anyone else, ever!  The two of them are magic when they are together, and there is no doubt that it is real, and he is in deep.  When he left her and came back to LA, I’ve never seen him so tore up.  He hates what he is doing, but he honestly thinks it is the only way he is going to get her back,” he waited to let his words sink in.  “Mom, if you keep pushing for him to give up on this and don’t support what he is doing, you’re going to push him away.  If you make him choose between you and Daisy – Daisy wins.”

Scott could tell that his mother did not like what he had to say, but she had to hear it.  He turned and left the room, leaving her with her thoughts.  He joined Chris in the living room with the kids; all of the troubles with Daisy were forgotten as they played with the kids on the floor.

~ * ~

Her business dinner had lasted longer than she had anticipated.  It was 10:30 as she was leaving the restaurant and beginning to head back towards home.  Unfortunately, it had rained heavily while she was inside and the road she came in on was now closed due to high water.  There was an alternate way home, it was a little longer, and it was a less traveled road.  Daisy hated going that way because she wasn’t as familiar with it and she always worried that if something happened she would be stranded.

She was about fifteen minutes into the drive when her fears came to pass.  The sputtering that her engine had been doing earlier had started again and this time, the car completely died.  No warning lights came on, the car just died.  She checked, and she had gas, this was not a case of running out of fuel.  She picked up her phone to dial her dad for help, and her phone had no signal.  She didn’t know if it was because of the clouds and storm or if it was truly a dead zone.  There was no traffic out on the road, and she had no way of getting anyone’s attention.  She had flares in the trunk but what good would they do her if there were no other vehicles out to see them? 

Her saving grace, if you could call it that, was that it was May, and the weather was not frigid cold.  She had just eaten so she wasn’t going to starve but she was, without a doubt, stranded.  She could not see if there were houses nearby and at this hour of the night there was no way she was going to knock on doors.  She sheltered in place, locked the car doors and prayed for headlights or daylight.

~ * ~

It was 7 am, and Melody noticed that Daisy had not yet come into the store.  This was odd, Daisy was normally in at this time, especially lately.  She dialed her cell, and it rang with no answer, eventually going to voicemail.  She left a message and then quickly called Mike, who was on patrol out in the area of Daisy’s house, to see if he had seen her car.  He told her that he had not and that her car was not in the driveway.  He offered to drive up to her parent’s house to see if the car was there; but he called back ten minutes later saying it wasn’t.

At 8 am with still no sign of Daisy, Melody was starting to get anxious. Daisy had still not returned her voicemail message, and every other call to her cell had gone straight to voicemail without ringing.  Mike was keeping an eye open for her and was patrolling near the county line. 

Several people came into the café, and Melody heard them talking about the storms from the night before and the horrible flooding in Springwood.  This made Melody sick, this is where Daisy was and if there was flooding – crap, she just knew this meant something horrible had happened.  She went to her office and called Mike and gave him this information, asking him to call the Sheriff in Springwood to see if they could look for Daisy.  He was also going to inform Daisy’s parents of the fact that she was missing.

Melody dialed the number to let someone else know what was going on,  “Hi, Chris, I’m sorry to call you and bother you, but I need to talk to you.”

“What’s wrong Mel, has something happened?”  He began to panic because he could tell by the sound of her voice that something was not right.

“It’s Daisy, Chris, she’s missing.”

“What do you mean she’s missing, Mel?  When was the last time someone talked to her?”

“I spoke to her a little before 7 last night, she was driving to a neighboring town for a business meeting.  Evidently she didn’t come home last night because she didn’t come to work this morning.  Mike has driven past her house, and her car wasn’t there or at her parent’s house.  She isn’t answering her cell phone, and it just goes to voicemail.”

“What business meeting?  And why was she going to a neighboring town alone?  What in the hell?  Is Mike looking for her?”  As he raised his voice, his family watched him carefully.  Especially his mother, she could tell that he was scared.

“She went to Springwood, and we just heard there were bad storms there last night and flooding..”

He cut her off before she could finish, “Jesus, Melody she could have drowned by now and you guys wouldn’t know because you weren't fucking looking for her.  Oh my, God, you have to find her.”

“We’re looking, Chris, I swear.  Mike has contacted the Sheriff out there, and they have an APB out on her car, and they are searching.  I will call you as soon as I know something.”

Chris hung up the phone and collapsed on the couch, tears in his eyes.  Lisa walked in and sat next to him, taking his hand, “What happened?”

“She went to some meeting last night, and she’s disappeared – no one knows where she is.  No answer on her cell, they can’t find her car, the town she went to evidently had severe flooding,” he couldn’t look at his mom, and he was struggling to keep from breaking down.

She pulled him toward her and into a hug and at that point he broke.  It was at this moment that she realized how much her son was in love with Daisy.  She sent up her own prayer that Daisy would be found safe because she did not think he could handle it if the news were not favorable.

~ * ~

Daisy was getting antsy, she had no idea how far away she was from any landmark, and she still had no signal on her phone.  She had tried starting the car, and it wouldn’t even make a sound.  She had hoped someone would drive by, but not a single car or truck had gone by.  She was beginning to believe that she would die alone on this desolate stretch of road.

Suddenly she saw a flash, at first she thought she was hallucinating.  But it was getting closer and then, it was in front of her, a cruiser – a police cruiser!  She jumped out of her car and met the officer half way between the vehicles.

“Ma’am, would you happen to be Mrs. Daisy Evans?”

Oh, how she loved to hear that name, Evans.  “Yes!  I am Daisy Evans, and I am so thankful you found me.”

“Well, you are lucky ma’am.  This road is closed from the south, and I guess you got on it from the north before they closed it.  Did you have car trouble?”

“No wonder I never saw any cars!  My car just died, I was going to go home the other route, but it was closed due to flooding as well, and I came down this way, and it just died, and I had no signal on my phone to call for help.”

“Well, the Sheriff in your town has been looking for you as well as your friends and the Boston Police have been calling us for regular updates.  Who do you know in Boston?”

“My husband is from there, he must be home visiting his family when he got the call about me.”

“Ah, well, let me call this in and get a tow truck out here.  Give me a minute, okay?”

~ * ~

Chris quickly answered the phone, “Has she been found safe, Mel?”

“Yes, her car died, and she was on a road that had been closed due to flooding.  She was not in water, she was not in danger, but her car was dead.  She has been towed back to town, and she got a rental car and is on her way back home now.”

“Oh thank God, I appreciate you calling and letting me know.”

“Chris, she knows you had the Boston Police getting updates.”

“I don’t care, I was worried sick, and I am not ashamed to tell her that.  Have you talked to her?”

“No, but the police officer who found her, he called her Daisy Evans.  You’ll be happy to know she didn’t argue or correct him.”

Chris smiled and thanked her for that.  He hung up and gave the good news to everyone, Daisy was safe and on her way back to her house.

 

 

 


	38. You Had Me Worried

Daisy pulled into town and into the parking spot in front of the bridal shop.  It was almost noon, and she noticed that the store was open and that Kimberly was inside.  She got out of the car and walked inside, Kimberly came running towards her and threw her arms around her neck and gave her a tight hug.

“Oh, Daisy, we were all so worried about you!”

“Thanks, who called you to come in?  Don’t you have class or something?”

“No, not today, I was free this morning, and Melody called asking if I could come in.  Graduation is tomorrow morning so today was a free day.  Why don’t you go home, I have everything under control here.”

“Um…yeah…ok, are you sure?”

“Absolutely, but you might want to go see Melody.  She has been a basket case all day.”

“Ok, yeah, I’ll do that.  Thanks, Kimberly.”

As Daisy walked out of the shop and down toward the café, Melody came running towards her.  “Oh thank God, I was so worried about you.  By the way, your parents want to see you, they were worried sick as well.”

“Yeah, I understand you told everyone.  I know word even traveled to Boston that I was missing.”

“Well, I felt like he had a right to know.”

“Did you know he was in Boston?”

“No, I was just calling his cell, and I had no idea he was up there until Mike told me that the Boston PD was asking for updates on his behalf.”  Mel gave her a hug and then pulled back and looked into her eyes, “He was scared Daisy, I called up there to give an update and talked to Scott.  He told me that Chris broke down he was so worked up and afraid of what might have happened to you.”

“Well, no more worries for him, I’m safe and fine, and I’m going to go to mom and dads.  Kimberly has the shop under control.”

“So what happened to your car?”

“It died, it is in the shop, it had been acting up lately, and I guess it is just old.  I can’t really afford a new car, I have to see what it will cost to repair and then see if dad can fix it.”

“Does you phone work now?”  There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice when she asked this question.

“Yeah, evidently I was in a dead zone so I had no service.  I wasn’t ignoring anyone, believe me, I didn’t like being stranded any more than you all liked worrying about me.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you later,” she said, giving her best friend another hug.

~ * ~

Daisy had been at her parent’s house for a few hours when there was a knock on the front door.  Thomas went to the door to answer it and came back to the kitchen a moment later, “Daisy, there is a gentleman at the door to speak to you.”

“Me? What in the world?”  She got up and started walking toward the door, her dad following close behind.  “Hi, I’m Daisy, can I help you?”

“Mrs. Evans, I have a delivery for you.  My name is Byron, and I’m from the local Audi dealer.  I have a delivery for you, your husband asked that I bring a new vehicle out to you,” he held out the keys, “I will need to have you sign this documents indicating you took delivery, but it is all ready to go.  Don’t worry, we brought it out on a flatbed so we didn’t put any miles on it.”

Daisy stepped out onto the porch and looked at the new Q3 in the driveway; it was blue, damn him it looked like Captain America blue.  “Byron, right?  I can’t accept this car.”

“Ma’am it’s paid for and taken care of, I just need your signature to prove that I delivered it,” his voice was shaky, he had never expected someone would turn down a vehicle.

Thomas walked over to his daughter and whispered in her ear, “Sign for the young man to leave and then you can call him and yell at him.  But it is not this man’s fault, and he can’t take the car back if Chris has already paid for it.”

Daisy nodded in agreement with her father and stepped over to sign Byron’s delivery receipt.  He provided her two sets of keys and copies of the purchase paperwork.  He offered to give her a tour of the car and the unique features, but she respectfully declined.  As Byron left, she marched into the house and got her phone, feverishly dialing his number.

She did not wait for him to say anything when he picked up the phone before she launched into her tirade, “What in the actual fuck do you think you are doing buying me a car and having it delivered?”

“Well, good afternoon, Daisy.  I’m glad to hear the car has arrived, do you like it?  I had to guess at what you might like.”

“Do you think you are Christian Grey just buying gifts and delivering them?  Do you think I can’t afford to buy a new car on my own?”

“I think, that for right now, I’m still your husband.  Our divorce isn’t final, and I’m not going to go through what I did today because you are stranded in the middle of nowhere in a piece of shit car.  I won’t have it, Daisy!”

She didn’t know what to say, she knew that Melody told her that he had been upset that she had been ‘missing’ but here he was actually admitting it to her.  “It’s too much, Chris,” the tone of her voice had softened.

“No, it’s not.  Your safety and security mean too much to me and if that means I buy you a car so that I have peace of mind, then that is what I do.”

“Thank you, for the car, I will pay you back for it.”

“Don’t insult me, please, Daisy.  It’s a gift, and I don’t want you to pay me back.  I know, you have pride, I get it.  But please just be gracious and accept it.”

“So, you were worried?  You had the Boston PD involved?”

He let out a soft chuckle, “I was, you could say, worked up.  I have friends on the force, I just asked that they keep their ears open for anything, I wanted to know right away and not when Mike or Melody would have the guts to call me.”

Daisy began to walk away from her dad, towards the far side of the porch.  “I wasn’t sure if you still cared.  I mean, I haven’t talked to you since you left.”

“Well, that is not entirely true, I did send you a text message.”

“Yeah, a response that was a little cold and hateful.”

He elected to ignore her comment, instead deciding to change the conversation back to her,  “Daisy, were you scared?  I mean when we were thinking you were missing, were you scared or were you safe?”

She swallowed hard, she had hoped no one would ask, and before now no one had, “I was on a deserted road that had evidently been closed shortly after I turned on it.  I guess there was flooding down to the south that I didn’t know about so they road was closed, and I had no cell service.”

“So, you were in an isolated area with no cell service and a dead car?”

“Yeah, pretty much and I had no idea when someone might come by.  I have to say that I was pretty scared, I didn’t know what was going on or when I would be found.  I guess they were searching for me, thanks to you and Melody.  I owe you for that, thank you,” her voice was barely audible as she said the words.

“Then repay me by taking the car, baby.  You were scared, and no matter happens between the two of us, I don’t want you feeling like that again when you are out driving around.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Chris, I swear.  I was just driving over to Springwood for dinner and didn’t realize it was going to rain or flood.  And it was so late when I finally left to head home, and it was dark, and I got turned around.”

“Why were you in another town having dinner?  That isn’t normal for you, especially by yourself.  What aren’t you telling me, Daisy?”

“I’m not sure why I have to explain any of it to you.  But, in the essence of being polite, I had a dinner meeting in Springwood.  I didn’t have a choice, that is where he wanted to meet.”

“He?  You met a man in Springwood?” His voice started to get a little louder.  “We aren’t even divorced yet, and you are stepping out on me?”

“Oh my God, I’m not having this conversation or the argument it will cause over the phone.  I will only tell you that I am not, as you say, stepping out on you.  I had a business meeting, not a date, so get your briefs out of a twisted bunch and calm down,”  she took a deep breath and counted to ten before she decided to move forward.  “I appreciate that you were scared and thank you for helping to find me.  And, thank you for my new car,” there was sincerity in her voice, and she hoped he understood that she meant it.

“I’m glad you’re accepting the car,” he said with a heavy sigh, “Daisy, before you hang up, you need to know something.”

She sighed, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say, “What, what do I need to know?”

“I love you, no matter what,  I’ve never stopped.”

She hurried and disconnected the call and shoved her phone in her pants pocket and began walking back towards the front door. As she approached her dad asked, “Are you alright, pumpkin?”

“Yeah, fine,” she responded tersely and walked into the house, letting the storm door slam behind her.

Thomas took out his phone and send a quick message to Chris, “She’s really pissed, you must have told her you loved her.”

Chris send back a simple, one-word response, “Yep!”

~ * ~

Melody pulled onto Daisy’s street, it had been an exhausting day, but she was so glad that her best friend was safe and home.  She had talked to Chris and was relieved to know that he had calmed down.  She knew he was upset but until Daisy was safe, she had no idea just how upset he had really been.

As she pulled up to Daisy’s house, she noticed the shiny new car in the drive.  That was not something she had expected.  She figured that had to be a gift from you know who.  She got out of her car, admiring it as she walked up the drive; she had to admit he had style.

Daisy swung open the front door as Melody approached, “Can you believe he bought me a car?  He said he didn’t want to worry again about me being stranded somewhere in a piece of shit car.”

“Well, you did tell me you couldn’t afford a new car, and you were worried about paying for the repairs to yours.  So, this is a good thing, right?”

“It sends a weird message, he doesn’t want anything to do with me since he goes back to LA but yet he worries about my safety and buys me a car?”

Melody walked into the house, eyeing Daisy carefully as she did.  “Wait, you talked to him?  When?”

“He called me right after the car was delivered, he wanted to know how I liked it.  I, of course, gave him a piece of my mind and told him I didn’t need him buying me a car, and I wondered who the hell he thought he was.”

“I’m sure that call ended well,” Mel said with a laugh, she of course already knew.  “So, he told you he was really worked up about your missing status?  I’m telling you, he was really torn up.  I’m honestly surprised he didn’t fly down here.  I have a feeling if you had not been found when you were, he would have.  I think he would have gone looking for you himself.”

“He told me that no matter what happens between us that he still loves me,” she sat down on the couch and looked up at Melody, “how do I respond to that?”

“You should have told him the truth; he gave you the door, and all you had to do was walk through it.  I think you like fighting him too much.  You love him, you admitted it to me, and you admitted it to your parents – just tell him!  You need to get over this fear of him thinking you are crazy because you obviously aren’t worried about everyone in town thinking you are.”

“I know, I think I open my mouth and instinct kicks in and I argue with him.  I’m my own worst enemy.  Did you talk to him?  I mean that’s a stupid question, I know you did.  But I mean did you really talk to him?”

“Yeah, we chatted for a bit, but we didn’t talk much about you.  I didn’t ask him how he is holding up if that is what you want to know.  It isn’t my place to ask him that, you need to be asking that, not me,” her answer was firm, and she hated that she knew information that she was withholding from Daisy.  But it was for her own good.  “Look, Tangie and I were talking, and she has a great deal for Orlando, so I booked us tickets.  We leave tomorrow afternoon so we need to go and pack.”

“What?  I can’t go to Florida, I have a shop to run, and I can’t just close down.”

“Yeah, I know that, so I have already talked to Kimberly, and she has it covered.  I’ve even talked to your parents about it already.  You’ve had a rough few weeks, and I think you need to get away – get away from everything and just relax.  A week in Florida, come on we’ve talked about going to Disney for years and Tangie said this deal was a no-brainer.”


	39. Need to Get Away

Chris was packing up his things when he heard a knock on the bedroom door; turning he saw his mom leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.  “Are you going somewhere?” She asked, knowing full well the answer to her own question.

“I have to, I get that you don’t understand it, but I have to go and see her.”

“You know, when you started to tell me about her, I thought you were insane.  Honestly, there is no other word for it.  But after we talked and after I had spoken to your brother, I started to realize that maybe I was wrong.”

“Wait, let me get my phone, can you repeat that?”  He said with a good-natured laugh.

“You’ve always gone after what you want, and I’ve never seen you fight this hard for a relationship.  She isn’t a Hollywood type, and I’ve told you that is what you need, a regular girl who can keep you grounded.”

“Are you saying you are supportive now?”

“Honey, I saw the fear in your eyes when you thought something happened to her; when you thought you might have lost her forever.  That was a pain I have never seen and pray I never see again in the eyes of any of my children.  I don’t have any doubt that you love Daisy, so, yeah, I support you and this relationship.”

Chris dropped his stuff and moved to hug his mom; this is what he wanted her to say.  And frankly, he needed her to say these things.  “Thanks, I just hope to get her back, and you get a chance to meet her.”

“Well, I hope I get to meet her but more than anything I want her to quit hurting my boy,” she pinched his cheeks, and he squirmed to get away from her.  “Does she have any idea that you are going to be seeing her?”

“No, she has no clue,” Chris said as he moved back to the bed to continue packing.  “When I talked to her earlier, she was really mad about the car.  I told her I loved her, no matter what happens between us, I love her, and I’ve never stopped.  She hung up on me, and her dad texted me and said she was worked up.”

“Her parents are for you two being together?”

“Yeah,” he laughed, “damn near the entire town is.  Her parents, her best friend, and even her divorce attorney.  Daisy wants me in her life, she needs me in her life, and she just can’t seem to let herself believe she deserves to have me in her life.  I’ve been trying to chip at the wall, and I might have broken through.  Gotta go see my girl and find out.”

~ * ~

It was no use for Daisy to argue with Melody; every obstacle she brought up, Mel had an answer.  She finally gave in and agreed to go on the trip to Florida.  After all, her heart wasn’t in the store so why was she worried about sticking around anyway.  They went into the bedroom and began going through the closet to determine what outfits should be taken.

Mel sat on the bed while Daisy started going through the closet, “Daisy, are you going to tell me what your meeting was about in Springwood?  You are super secretive about it.”

She turned around slowly and then lowered herself into the old armchair that sat in the corner of the room, “I was meeting with Connor Barrett,” she offered quietly, almost embarrassed to say the name.

“Connor Barrett? Isn’t he the guy who owns the boutique on the other side of Springwood?  The one you said was a snake in the grass?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Why?  What in the world would possess you to meet with him?”

“He wants to expand; he wants to buy my store.  Last night was a meeting to try and convince me to sell to him.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa – you told him no, right?” Daisy shook her head, “Oh my God, you’re entertaining the idea?  Why?  That store has been your dream for years, and you have poured everything into it.  What in the world would you do?”

“I’m not making money, at least not a lot of money.  Let’s face it, I’m a small shop in a small town, and I don’t have the traffic to stay open.  I have an incredible inventory that Connor doesn’t have, and it would be a foot in the door to these designer groups that he isn’t involved in.  I have a better reputation than he does – he wants to buy that.”

“So, you give up your dream and then what?”

“I may go back to school.  Maybe my mom is right, I need to grow up and live up to my potential.  I think I need a fresh start and it needs to be away from here.”

Melody had not expected this, and she was pretty sure the whole selling the business angle had to do with the shadow of Mr. Evans.  She wasn’t going to ask, though, she didn’t want to ruin the prospect of this trip and needed to keep things moving.  “Okay, well, is he at least making a solid offer?”

“Yeah, it’s solid.  I told him that I needed some time to review it and digest it.  Selling is not something that was at the top of my list of things to do, and he had to know that I needed to really consider it.  He is giving me some time.”

Melody got off the bed and moved towards the dresser to begin looking for intimates and lingerie to pack.  That is when she noticed the box and the rings.  She stared at them for a moment, unsure of just what she was looking at, then she decided to ask.  “Daisy?  Why do you have a man’s wedding band sitting here with your wedding ring?  You didn’t have this before, did you?”

Daisy ran over to the dresser and grabbed the rings and held onto them tightly, “Um, you don’t need to see those.”

“Too late, I saw them.  Did you buy Chris a ring?”  Daisy walked back over to the armchair and took a seat, clutching the rings in her hand.  “When did you buy that?  You haven’t had that all along have you?”

“I bought it the day after he left,” her voice was barely above a whisper.  Her head was down, and she could not look at Melody when she spoke.   She wasn’t crying, and she had no emotion in her voice, but it was evident that it was not something she wanted to talk about.

Mel moved over and sat on the floor in front of her friend, “You bought it for your anniversary?”  Daisy slowly nodded in response.  “Oh, honey, why did you do that?  What in the world possessed you to buy him a ring when he had just left you?”

“I wanted him to come back, Mel.  I wanted him to wear a ring that said he was mine like I was going to wear a ring that said I was his.”

“You realize that he isn’t coming back unless you tell him you want him to come back, right?  I mean, he told you he loves you no matter what but you have never said to him that you are this torn up over him.  You’ve never told him how you have cried yourself to sleep over him or been so depressed you didn’t want to go to work.”

Daisy finally looked up and stared at her friend, shocked and bewildered at what she was saying.  “How did you know all of that?”

“Girl, you have it written all over your face.  Besides, remember I was here that first night when he left, and you were messed up.  I know how bad it hurt.  Your mom and dad have been in the café, they’ve told me how you wouldn’t come out to see them, you just moped around your house.”

“Yeah, they’ve been worried.”

“I told you that Alexis and Tangie have wondered where you were – you’ve ignored me.  And we won’t talk about the fact that you’ve lost weight you couldn’t afford to lose.  The man has made you sick with him being gone; that is another reason you need this trip.  You need to do something to keep your mind busy.”

“I know, everything you are saying is true, and I know that.”

“Can I just tell you, though, maybe you need to consider telling Chris the truth and coming clean.”

“I don’t want to think about it now, can I think about it when we get back from Florida?”

“Sure, you can do that.  Are you going to take those with you?” Melody asked, motioning toward the rings.

“Yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but I keep them with me.  It makes me feel close to him.”

“Do you wear your wedding ring, Daisy?”

“Sometimes,” she whispered, “only when I’m home, though, never out in public.”

Mel had a hard time suppressing her smile.  She desperately wanted to text Chris and tell him this information, but she knew that she couldn’t.  She did not want to betray her best friend’s trust.  Besides, it would mean more to Chris to hear Daisy say that she had a ring for him versus hearing her tell him.

~ * ~

Melody pulled up in front of Daisy’s house and honked the horn.  Daisy came running out the house with her bags and threw them in the backseat, ready to head to the city and the airport for the flight to Orlando.  Daisy found it weird that she had agreed to take this trip and knew none of the particulars for the flight or hotel.  She left everything in Melody and Tangie’s capable hands.  After all, Tangie was a travel agent so she had to trust that she would not steer them wrong.

The drive to the city was uneventful; it was the arrival at the airport that made Daisy start to question the trip.  She had two bags, that Melody had convinced her she would need.  But when Mel got her bags out of the car, she had one small bag that would barely hold enough for one night. 

“Mel, where are your things?”

“Oh, Tangie is coming down tomorrow, and she is bringing my stuff.  She didn’t have luggage so she has to use mine.  So, I’ve got a small carry on for tonight and tomorrow and then the rest of my stuff is coming with her.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Tangie was coming, too.  Or maybe you told me and with everything that has been going on I forgot.  Sorry, makes total sense.”

They walked in and got checked in and made their way through security.  As they waited to board, Daisy realized they would not get to Orlando until almost 8 pm.  She would be exhausted by that time, but at least she would be able to sleep in, and it would all be worth it.

Luckily the flights were running on time, and sure enough, they landed right at 8 pm.  To their surprise, a car was waiting for them.

“Mel, did you order a limo to pick us up?”

“No, I wonder if Tangie did?  I asked about a rental, and she said she would take care of transport, this must have been her idea.”

The driver tipped his hat and introduced himself as Jeff, he stated that he would be driving them to their destination, and he had all of the details.  He opened the back door and let the ladies get in and then began the journey towards the Disney resort complex. 

He pulled up in front of the dock for the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom, Daisy was confused.  “Jeff, I’m sorry but aren’t we supposed to just go to the hotel tonight?  Why are we going over to the park?”

“I was given the instruction that tonight you would go to the fireworks display at Cinderella’s Castle and spend a late evening here and then go to your hotel.  You have a tour guide waiting for you at the castle.”

“A tour guide?  Mel, did you know about this?”

“No, Tangie didn’t mention this, she must have just planned this with the park and with Jeff.  She told me she had a few things planned that were special.”

The ladies hopped on the ferry and once at the park entrance made their way towards Cinderella’s Castle.  As they began walking across the bridge towards the castle, they noticed a man in the distance who appeared to be waiting.  Daisy figured this must be their tour guide.  She began to giggle, he was dressed in a white suit, his back was to her so she couldn’t see his shirt or tie.

“Mel, they made the poor guy dress up in all white.  You know that has to suck.”  Melody had to bite her tongue.  “I feel sorry for him, though, he has to be dressed up at night to give us a tour.  Couldn’t they let him dress down a bit for such a late evening?”

As they got closer to him, he finally turned around and took several steps forward.  Daisy’s hands flew to her face, and she gasped, “Oh my God, Chris!”

He reached out for her hand, gently kissing it, looking directly into her eyes.  “I felt it only fitting that the next time I saw my Princess, that it be at a Castle.  You don’t mind do you?”


	40. Someday My Prince Will Come

As Daisy stood on the bridge to the castle, she was having a hard time believing what was going on.  Ten minutes earlier she was being told she was on her way to meet a tour guide for a late night in the Magic Kingdom.  When in fact it was all a ruse, and she was standing face to face with Chris, the man of her dreams and her estranged husband.

“What are you doing here?”  Was all she could choke out.  She turned and looked at Melody, who had backed away to give them some privacy.  “You knew about this didn’t you?”

Melody nodded and began walking back towards her, “Yeah, sweetie, I did.  I was never planning on staying down here with you and Tangie isn’t coming.  I just had to do what I could to get you to Florida.”

“So you lied to me?” 

“No, I stretched the truth to get you on a plane,” she turned and looked at Chris, “You need to take it from here.  I need to get to my hotel and sleep.”

Chris stepped forward and gave her a hug, “Thank you, I appreciate it, and I think she will too after she gets over being angry.”

Daisy embraced Mel and whispered, “I hate you so much,” in her ear.

Mel responded with, “I know, sweetie.  But you need to tell him everything, and you need to give him the ring.  Keep him, Daisy, you deserve him, and he loves you.   Allow yourself to be happy.”

A Disney staff member came to escort Melody back to the car so that she could get to the hotel.  Leaving Chris and Daisy on the bridge.  She just stared at him for a minute and then finally asked, “What is with the ridiculous white suit?”

“Well, Prince Charming always wears white, right?  I couldn’t come out here on a horse, and I couldn’t wear one of those real military suits like Charming wears in the movies.  So, a white suit was the best I could do,” he said, flashing that brilliant, mega-watt smile.  “At least I broke it up with a light blue shirt, couldn’t do all white.”

“So, you planned all of this?  And Melody was helping you?”

He stepped forward and reached up to tuck a piece of her hair that had fallen back behind her ear.  Keeping his hand on the side of her face and keeping his eyes locked with hers.  He took just another step closer, so there was hardly any space between them, raising his other hand to her face, and lowering his lips to hers.  The kiss was soft and sweet, he didn’t want to push it, but he noticed she wasn’t resisting.

“I did have help, yes.  Is that what you asked?”  She slowly nodded her head, lost in that moment.  He leaned forward and kissed her again, this time grazing his tongue across her lips to ask for access.  She gave it willingly and allowed him to deepen the kiss.  Her arms instinctively moved around his neck, and she pressed her body against his.

She broke the kiss and stared up into his ocean blue eyes, she could totally get lost staring into them.  “Are you not worried about anyone seeing us out here?”

“It’s dark, and the park isn’t that busy, but we can go inside if it makes you feel better?”

“Inside?  Inside the castle, are you serious?”

“I am Princess, we’re spending the next two nights in Cinderella’s Castle.  You don’t think Prince Charming is making you stay in just some regular hotel room, do you?”

“You are totally loving this Prince Charming thing aren’t you?”

“Have I swept you off your feet yet?”

She looked down and then back up at him, “Nope, still standing.”  With a swift motion, Chris literally swept her up and began carrying her into the castle.  She started to giggle, and he knew that things were at least going in the right direction.  “Now you have swept me off my feet.”

He carried her across the bridge and through the entryway, into the castle where she finally asked that he put her down.  “As you wish,” he replied.  He could not quit staring at her as she was in awe of her surroundings.  She walked around, looking at all of the details as if she could not believe where she was and what was going on.

“How in the world did you pull this off?”  She finally managed to ask.

“Well, I do know one or two people that I could call,” he said with a cocky grin, “I might now a person or two with Disney.  I’ve been planning this for a while.  But to be honest, your little stunt with going missing and scaring the hell out of me pushed the timeframe up a little.”

She spun back around to look at him, “You’ve been planning this all along?  I’m confused, you left me and went home to LA.  I thought you were going to sign the divorce papers.”

Chris moved towards here and snaked his hands around her waist, looking down into her eyes he told her, “I needed to give you space, and I needed to think.  You needed to see if you wanted me in your life and I needed to find a way to show you that I wanted you back.  I thought maybe a romantic honeymoon would work.”

“And you wanted to prove that Prince Charming exists?”

“I don’t care if he exists for other women, I just want to be that for you,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose, “I don’t want you to keep looking over your shoulder for someone else.  I want to be all you want or need; I love you, and I do mean that.”

“I know,” she said quietly, not sure if she was ready to say it in return although her heart was about to burst.

“I tell you what, let’s go up to our room and let me draw you a nice hot bath.  There is a spectacular bathtub, and I am sure after all the traveling you would like to relax.  Let me pamper you a little.”

It was going to be hard to wipe the smile of Daisy’s face, “That sounds fantastic, but you better watch it, I might get used to being pampered and expect it all the time.”

Chris gave her another kiss, this time with a little more passion and heat since they were inside and out of the view of the public.  His hands moved up her body and to the sides of her face.  He broke the kiss and held her face, looking into her eyes and telling her, “I have no problem pampering you all you want if it means I get to keep you.”

Chris took her hand and walked her over to a large oak door and knocked.  A woman opened the door and greeted him, her name tag indicated that she was Gretchen.  She was the concierge, and she welcomed them in and led them to the private elevator that would take them to their suite.  Chris had been in the room earlier, so he knew what to expect, but it was fun to watch it all through Daisy’s eyes.

As the elevator doors opened and they stepped out onto the large mosaic of the carriage, Daisy’s eyes went wide.  She was drawn immediately to the case where she saw the glass slipper and the tiara, along with a few glass pumpkins.  He stood back and laughed as she took it all in.

“This is so magical,” she commented as she began walking through the rooms.

Chris opened the bathroom door and started to run the water in the oversized jetted bathtub.  He filled the tub about a quarter of the way full and then went to get Daisy, “I want to fill the rest when you are in the tub, that way I can get the water as hot as you can stand it.  And I know how high to fill the tub.”

Daisy entered the bathroom and slowly began to undress, she was not trying to be sexy about it, but Chris could not take his eyes off of her.  “Do you want to join me?” She asked playfully. 

“No, this is all about you,” he said as he took her hand and helped her step into the tub.  He admired her body and felt the twitch in his pants.  Oh, how he missed her; he would just need to take care of her when she was out of the tub, that is all there was to it.  Once she was in the tub, he turned the water back on, adjusting the temperature appropriately and playing with her hair that spilled over the side of the tub.

As the tub is filled, he turned the jets on and turned the water off.  Kissing her head, he turned the main lights off and turned on the auxiliary lights.  These lit up the stained glass panels around the tub and illuminated the stars in the ceiling, giving the room a romantic and peaceful glow.  He leaned over and kissed her head, “Enjoy this for a bit, I’m going to get you unpacked and get the bed ready, okay?”

Daisy nodded her head and softly whispered, “okay” as he walked out of the room.

Chris went back into the bathroom a few minutes later and noticed that Daisy had dozed off.  He turned the jets off and gently shook her shoulder to wake her, “Hey, come on sleepy head, let’s get out of the water before you turn into a prune.”

Daisy yawned and blinked a few times as if to reconcile where she was.  When she saw Chris, her face broke into a broad smile, and it all came back to her.  He offered his hand to help her stand, she took it willingly and got to her feet.  She was so relaxed, but the hot water had turned her body to jelly.  He quickly took a large fluffy towel and began to dry her off.

“Here,” he said pointing to the counter, “I brought you something to put on.  I’ll be out in the bedroom waiting for you.”  He seemed almost embarrassed as he began to turn and walk away.

Daisy reached for his hand, “Wait!  You suddenly want to leave me to dress when you have seen me without clothes in the tub and drying me off?  Are you suddenly embarrassed?”

“Just giving you some privacy, I figure you deserve it since I’ve been staring at you all night.  Plus, it doesn’t take two people to put your lingerie on,” he walked out of the room and finished changing his clothes.  He had already shed the jacket and blue shirt in exchange for a well-worn t-shirt.  This time, he swapped the white pants for a pair of navy pajama pants and took off the t-shirt.  He had just put the clothes on the dresser when Daisy exited the bathroom.

Chris walked over and took her hand, guiding her to the wooden chest at the end of the bed.  He sat down and had her sit down next to him, then pulled her legs over his.  “I was kind of hoping we could talk for a little bit, I have a few things I need to say, and I have a request of you.”

He could feel Daisy’s body tense, “Okay, I’m willing to talk.  I agree, we need to, and I promise I won’t run off in the middle of the conversation this time.”

He smiled, knowing she was referring to the pizza delivery at the most inopportune time.  “I didn’t want to leave you.  It was probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do.  And honestly, I wanted to pick up the phone almost daily to call you; but, I felt like I would never get you to make a true decision about us if I did.  You wanted me out of your life, so I felt like you needed to know what it was like without me.”

“So, it was a test?”

“Yeah, a little.  I’ve been very honest with you about how much I love you, but I don’t think you believe me.  I was willing to walk away, but I have to admit it hurt like hell.  I had no intention of signing the divorce papers, though, and I told Jaws that.”

“Jaws?  Who is Jaws?”

“Sorry, Violet,  your divorce attorney.”

“You saw Violet?  When?  And why do you call her Jaws?”

“Jaws, because she is a freaking shark and she was out for blood – it seems fitting.  But I have to say, I liked her, she was nice and didn’t kick me out of her office.  But yeah, I saw her before I left for LA.  She hand-delivered he divorce papers and I told her I would not sign them.”

“She didn’t tell me she saw you; matter of fact, she told me she mailed the documents to you.”

“Don’t be mad at her, I told her not to tell you that I stopped by, and I told her not to tell you that I got the papers.  But I did tell her that I wasn’t going to quit fighting for you, and I was going to do my damnedest to get you back,”  Chris laced his fingers with Daisy’s and paused before continuing.  “I wasn’t going to make this trip yet, I wasn’t ready to give in – it’s only been two weeks, and I felt like you needed more time.  After all, you hadn’t tried reaching out to me again, so you weren’t ready.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“You went missing, and I got scared that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to ever say the things to you that I wanted to say.  So, when I knew you were safe and that you were home, I put this plan in motion because I had to see you and have you in my arms again.”

“You were that worried?”

“Yeah, I was.  I finished putting this together and told Melody to make it happen immediately,”  Chris looked up at Daisy, and she was pretty sure his eyes were glistening.  “I want this trip to be an opportunity for us to reconnect to what we have together – the electric spark that you know we can’t deny.  And I want you to wear my ring, be my wife, have a honeymoon with me and see what our life could be like.  Give us a real chance that is all I ask.”

 

 


	41. With this Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW - 18+ with adult sexual situations contained within this chapter. If those situations are offense or uncomfortable for you, please skip this chapter.

Daisy pulled her hand free from Chris’ and swung her legs over and onto the floor.  She stood up and walked over to the other side of the room where her purse was sitting.  Reaching inside she pulled out a small velvet pouch and walked back toward Chris.  She pulled out her wedding ring and handed it to Chris, giving him the implicit permission to place the ring on her hand.

He took the ring from her fingers and stood up; taking her left hand in his, he slipped the ring on her finger and then kissed his bride.  He was so happy at that moment; he was not sure that anything could top it.  He pulled back and spoke to her, “Thank you, Daisy.  You have no idea how happy this makes me.”

Clutching the bag, Daisy motioned back to the chest, “Please, have a seat, I have something I need to say to you,” she watched as he slowly sat down, and the smile on his face slowly changed into a look of concern and fear.  “Don’t be scared, Chris, I promise this isn’t bad news.  When I came home and realized you were gone, it hurt, more than I could have ever anticipated that it would.  I could barely breathe, and honestly, I passed out and hit my head on the counter,” she reached up and touched the place on her head where she knew she had cut her head open.

“I did the only thing I knew to do, I called Melody.  She came over, and I tried to work through my feelings, and I think I was still confused, and she told me I needed to tell you all the things that were keeping me from giving myself to you completely.  But I told her I was afraid you would laugh at me or think I was crazy.”

“Sweetie, I wouldn’t laugh at you,” he interrupted.

She put her finger to his lips, “Please, let me finish.  When I woke up the next morning, I made a decision of something I wanted to do. Actually, I needed to do, because I knew that I was going to have to set these feelings aside and find a way to tell you how I feel about you.  I don’t know if I can tell you but maybe I can show you,” she said as she opened the pouch and pulled out the ring.  His eyes went wide as he realized what she had, “If I wear something to show that I belong to you, I want you to wear something to show that you belong to me.  Would you be willing to wear my ring and be my husband?”

He was speechless; words could not form due to the lump in his throat, and when he looked back up to meet Daisy’s eyes, she could see the tears that were starting to spill down his cheeks.  “Chris, baby, please don’t cry.  I wasn’t trying to make you cry, I swear,” she said as she gently wiped the tears away and kissed is cheeks.

His voice was shaking, but he finally spoke, “I would be honored to wear your ring and be your husband.”  Daisy took his hand, sliding the ring on his finger.  Chris then pulled her towards him, she straddled his lap, kissing him and sealing their ring ceremony.  “So, it is safe to say you have made me a very happy man, Daisy Ann.”

He stood up, Daisy’s legs immediately wrapping around his waist and he carried her back to the bed.  Instead of placing her on the bed, he released her to stand in front of him.  He began kissing her neck and shoulder while he moved his hands from her hips up under her lace and satin camisole.  As his hands roamed, so did hers.  She ran her hands up his back and then used her nails to scratch back down.  She could tell he liked that as he moaned against her skin where he was kissing and nipping. 

He took his lips from her body and moved to pull her cami up and off in one move.  She gave no resistance as he moved to hook his fingers in her shorts and lace panties and pulled them down in one swift motion.  He was gentle not to tear the set, but he was making it known he wanted them off of her.  Without a word, she looked down at his waist, letting him know she expected his pants to come off.  He took the hint and removed them just as swiftly.

Chris took a moment to admire Daisy; he thought she was beautiful and having her naked figure in front of him was almost more than he could stand.  He took a step closer, their bodies so close but not touching.  He slowly ran his fingers up her arms, from her hands to her elbows to her shoulders; finally to her face. Caressing her face, he captured her lips and swept his tongue across hers.  Deepening the kiss and inching closer to her so that their bodies not only touched but he began to push her back slightly against the bed.

He moved his hands from her face so he could brace his body and hers as they began to fall on the bed.  There was nothing rough about his actions; he was taking his time with her and being gentle.  He moved so that he was over her, gazing down into her eyes, asking without words for permission to continue.  Her hands moved up his chest, slowly, appreciating the feel of his skin under her fingers.  She reached his shoulders and held her hands in place, staring into his beautiful blue eyes and nodding her head; her unspoken word to let him know she wanted him to continue.

As he positioned himself, Daisy lifted her right leg and wrapped it around his hip, allowing him easy access and begging for him to take her.  Chris did just that, making love to his wife, slowly and tenderly, wanting to make the night last.  She felt amazing, and he did not want it to end. 

~ * ~

Chris and Daisy were wrapped in each other’s arms, bodies sweaty and completely sated.  Their breathing, in tandem, was measured and beginning to get back to a steady rhythm. 

“That was…breathtaking,” Daisy was able to finally get out as he snuggled her a little closer.

“It was,” he admitted, “I love you, Daisy, please don’t leave me for another man.”

“I love you, too, Chris.  What makes you think I’m going to leave you for another man?” She wiggled to move around and face him, confused at his comment. 

He swallowed hard, he probably shouldn’t have said that but it wasn’t like he could take it back.  “The night you went out to dinner and went missing, you had dinner with a man in another city, right?”

“Oh, please don’t do this, things are going so well right now.  Don’t….just don’t.”

He loosened his grip on her and began to move away just a bit, putting some space between them.  “You were having dinner with a man, right?  I mean, I’m not wrong about that am I?”

“Before I even justify your comments with an answer, just tell me this.  Are you, in the slightest bit, jealous?” She smirked when she asked this, unable to resist because this was almost too good to be true.

“I’m just trying to understand what I’m up against.”

“Well, up until your assinine question, you were against my naked body!”  She said emphatically while sitting up and pulling the covers up around her.  “Yes, I was having dinner with a man.  His name is Connor, and he owns a bridal store in Springwood, and it was a business meeting.  That is all, a business meeting.”

Chris scrambled to sit up, “Why were you having a meeting with another store owner?”

“Because I’m going to sell my shop to him, that’s why.  I’m getting out of the bridal and romance business.”

“Princess, why are you selling a business that you have worked so hard for?  That business is your life, you love everything about it.”

She couldn’t look at him any longer, she turned away and looked down to where she had the sheet bunched around her body.  “I don’t believe in it anymore – the romance of it all.  It doesn’t exist, and I was a fool for thinking it did.”

“You don’t believe in it anymore because of me, right?  Because I left, because I walked away and left you?”

She didn’t look up, and she didn’t speak; letting his question linger in the air.  “No, I don’t believe in it anymore because of me.  Because I didn’t believe it when I had it – couldn’t recognize what it looked like.  That what I had in my mind was a fantasy and sometimes reality is better, but it looks different.  I didn’t handle our relationship the right way, I don’t deserve to sell people on romance if I don’t know what it even looks like.”

“Princess, you can’t take all the blame for what happened between us.  You can’t say I didn’t play a part in what happened.  I pushed, maybe I pushed too hard.”

“Fine, you played a part, but I am not blaming you, and it isn’t your fault,”  she inched closer to him, still clutching the sheet close to her.  She raises her hand and pulls gently turns his face towards hers, “Chris, I don’t want to fight, please don’t do this.  I’m admitting that I want to work on us because I was miserable with you being gone.  I love you, and you are more important to me than the shop.”

“Is that why you bought me a ring?”

She smiled, “Yeah, because I knew if I got you back I had to stake my claim,” she leaned forward and kissed him, “Can I ask you a question? You were in Boston, did you tell your mom about us?  And what did you say to her?”

“I did go home to Boston, went back specifically to tell her about you as a matter of fact.  I told her I had to talk to her about a relationship and she immediately asked if you were underage or pregnant.”

Daisy gasped and then began to laugh, “Why, you have a reputation for those things that I don’t know about?”

“Uh, no!  But mom said I looked really nervous and that she figured if it was bad and it was about a relationship what was the worst thing I could tell her?  She thought me getting caught with an underage girl or getting a girl pregnant would be the worst thing, so that is where her mind went.”  Chris put his arm around Daisy and pulled her close to him.  They snuggled with their backs against the headboard, taking the opportunity to talk and get things cleared up.  “She was relieved when I told her that you were legal but disappointed to hear that pregnancy could be an option since we didn’t take any precautions.”

Once again Daisy set up straight and turned back to look at him, “Shit!  I didn’t even think about that!  What happens if I am?  Getting pregnant or being pregnant never entered my mind until just now, I wasn’t worried about it, and now I am.”

“Shhh!  Calm down and let’s take things one at a time.  Let’s worry about fixing the relationship between the two of us and we will concern ourselves with babies later.”

“Later?  I could be pregnant now, and you are saying we will worry about this later?  You are awfully calm about this.”

“And you are awfully worked up.  When we were in Vegas, you said you had it under control.  Has something changed?  Because if it hasn’t, then I’m not concerned.  And, if something did happen, I’m okay with it.  I’m not afraid of us having kids, alright?”

“You’re not?”

“No, Daisy, I’m ready for a family – wife, kids, the white picket fence, the whole thing.  I’m not worried and honestly, would welcome it.  If you’re not pregnant, then we just work on it so you are,” he said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“So, what was her reaction,” she asked, totally ignoring his remark about getting her pregnant and having babies.

“She wants to meet you – she was apprehensive at first just so you know.  She questioned how we met, how we came to get married so quick and she was on your side for getting divorced.”

“And you convinced her that we were in love and that I was insane and would somehow come around, right?”

“Yeah, something like that.  I told her that when we got married, we were in love, you meant what you said to me because I could see it in your eyes.  I just needed you to remember that feeling.”

“How can you be so sure that we were so in love that day?  We were so drunk that night and the next morning;  Hell, we didn’t even remember getting married so how can you be so confident that we meant what we said to one another?”

Chris got out of bed and walked over to his bag, pulling out a laptop and then returning to the bed.  He turned on the computer and once booted, pulled up a file, before pressing enter he looked at Daisy, “I’ve watched this about a hundred times and I’m pretty sure you’ll see what I see.”  He pressed start and watched Daisy as she watched the video playback.

Within moments of the video starting, tears began to spill down her cheek.  He was right, she could see the emotion in her eyes in the video and more importantly, she could hear it in the words she spoke.  They both meant what they said to one another, they hadn’t used canned vows, they said things that were meaningful to them and to what they had experienced in their short time together. 

When the video was over, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked at him, “Why didn’t you show this to me earlier?  Like maybe before you ever went back to LA?”

“You needed to be ready to see it, Princess, and until now, it wouldn’t have mattered.  You were so hell bent on divorcing me that this would not have changed your mind.  You needed to be ready to accept us and make us work before you saw this, and now you were ready.”  



	42. I Just Wanted a Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW   
> 18+  
> Sexual Situations

Daisy had to admit that he was right, she would not have felt as moved if this video would have been played for her when he first came to see her after she filed the annulment papers.  She needed to wait until she had lost him and made the decision that she needed him in her life before the video would mean something.  She thought this was the right time to come clean with him about her reasons for pushing him away.  He said he wouldn’t make fun of her, so now was the time to test him on that.

“You’re probably right, I needed to see this when I was ready, but I’ve been holding something back all along,” she took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, hoping it would calm the excessive beating of her heart.  “My resistance to our marriage never had anything to do with whether I loved you or not.  Deep down, I’ve always loved you.  I loved you the minute I laid eyes on you, but I’ve been upset about the idea of us being married.”

“Yeah, that’s been pretty evident.  Are you ready to tell me why?”

“Are you willing to promise that you won’t laugh at my reason?  Because I know, you will think it sounds ridiculous.”

“I promise,” Chris took his finger and made a gesture on his chest, “Cross my heart, baby.”

“I always dreamed that if I got married I would wear a big gown and my dad would walk me down the aisle.  My groom would lovingly watch me walk towards him, and we would pledge our love for one another in front of all of our family and friends,” she stopped to see if he had any reaction; he was listening intently.  “We would have a reception where we would have a romantic first dance, and I would have pictures to remember the day and how blissfully happy we were.  Instead, we have none of that.”

“So, you are upset because we didn’t have a ‘real’ wedding and you missed out on all of that?”  Daisy couldn’t make eye contact with him but slowly nodded. “And you think I would laugh at you for that?  For wanting your fairytale?”  Again, she nodded in response.  Chris lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes, “All you had to do was tell me, I would have given it to you.  I know you love the romance, which is why I know your store has always meant so much to you.”

Daisy nodded, she couldn’t look at him.  While he wasn’t laughing, after all, he had promised, she couldn’t help but worry that he was at least judging.  “You don’t think I’m crazy or stupid?”

“No, I believe you want what you want, and I can’t blame you for that.  What I can blame you for is not telling me and putting the two of us through the emotional wringer over something that could have easily been resolved weeks ago.”

“So, you are mad?”

“No, Princess, I’m not mad, and I don’t think you’re crazy or insane.  Can we just agree that going forward we agree to stop finding ways to fight and instead find ways to stay together?’

Daisy released the sheet that she had been clutching so tight and crawled over to where Chris was sitting.  She pushed him back against the headboard and straddled his hips and sat on his lap.  This time, she made his signature move of cupping his face in her hands and kissing him.  The kisses grew heated and ravenous, and she could feel his erection pressing into her ass.  He was aroused and ready, and Daisy was more than willing. 

Chris watched as she placed her hands on his shoulders for support as she positioned herself over his shaft.  She slowly lowered herself, taking him into her slick wet folds slowly; she watched his face and could tell she was torturing him, but he was not asking her to stop.  His gasps and moans let her know that he was more than enjoying it.  Once he was completely enveloped, Daisy remained still so she could adjust to him being there.  She loved having him inside her, and she had to admit that she missed this and wanted to savor this feeling.

Her head was back, and her eyes were closed, and he wanted her to move, he was aching and while he could appreciate the sensation he had a desire that wasn’t going to wait.  He started to reach for her, and her senses kicked in, “No touching, you will just have to watch and wait, for now.”

“Daisy, you…can’t….do,” his voice was ragged, “Please…God…please.”  He was desperate to buck his hips and pump in and out of her, but she kept her weight even, and he could not move, not even a little.

Slowly she started to rock, and when she did, her hands moved up her body, and she began to massage her breasts.  Cupping them and playing with her nipples; all the while keeping her head back and her eyes closed.  He begged to let him do that, and she denied him.  The more she played, the faster she rocked, eventually moving one hand down her body to begin pleasuring herself.  As she began to play with her clit, her body began to spasm, and the sensation was more than he could take, his hands shot up to grab her hips.

“I didn’t tell you to do that,” she scolded, as she looked at him and opened her eyes.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had enough punishment,” he spat out as he began to bounce her up and down; their movements becoming more frenzied.

Daisy had to reach out and hold onto his shoulders again for support, “Oh, God…I’m gonna cum…Oh….Chris…”

This made him move faster and made her grind her hips harder with every pump of his hips.  Within moments, she was tumbling over the edge of ecstasy, and he was falling right behind her.  She didn’t stop grinding on him, she knew that he had an orgasm and was probably spent, but she wanted to see if she could get him to cum again.  She knew he could, and she wanted it, needed it, had to have it.

He was well aware of what she was doing, and he was not complaining.  He was aching and more than willing to push through but he wanted to drive into her deeper and her on top was not going to do it.  In a swift motion, he flipped her over onto her back,  lifting her legs up and then holding them together while he pumped in and out of her.  Her breathing was ragged, and her orgasm came so quick she didn’t have time to warn him, which was fine because he met her on the way over.

He quickly pulled out and collapsed next to her, both of them unable to move.  Sweat beading on their bodies but neither one of them concerned.  The only movement either one of them could muster was to reach out and lace their fingers together.  Both of them ended up drifting off to sleep.

~ * ~

Daisy’s eyes fluttered open, and it took a minute to realize where she was.  She was under a sheet and curled up in bed, but she was alone.  She was a little sore, and her body was sticky, the aftermath of the most recent events with Chris.  She moved to get off of the bed when he came back into the room, fully dressed and carrying a tray.

“Hey, Princess, how about some coffee or juice?  It was a little late, so I didn’t want to do breakfast.”

“Coffee sounds good.  How long have you been up?  You are all dressed and chipper.”

“Not as long as you might think, you wore my ass out.  But, I have big plans for us tonight, and I did not want to spend all day in bed.  Although that does sound tempting.”

“You want to give me a hint?”

“Absolutely not!  It is a surprise, but I promise, you will like it.  So, do you want to hang out at the Magic Kingdom or go to one of the other parks?  All I can tell you about tonight is that our dinner reservations are for 8 pm.”

“How about EPCOT?  That way our ‘honeymoon’ as you called it can be spent visiting different countries.”

“Ok, that works for me.  Now get that beautiful ass of yours out of bed and take a shower so we can go play.”

Daisy showered and got ready for their day in the park.  Chris donned his trademark sunglasses and switched things up with a Disney hat instead of the Maple Leafs hat he usually wore.  They two of them snuck out of their room and made their way over to EPCOT, spending the day going from country to country.  They did not shy away from holding hands or putting their arms around each other.  This was not something Daisy was willing to do when they were in Anaheim a few weeks earlier; but today, she did not mind.  To her astonishment, no one had approached them and asked for autographs or pictures.  She had not noticed anyone following them and snapping photos or even just stalking them.  She was sure that they would end up online later that night, and Chris would get a call from his publicist; but he kept telling her to quit worrying about it and for once, she was listening to him.

They headed back to the Magic Kingdom around 6:30 so they could start getting ready for dinner.  Daisy had insisted that she wanted to take another shower and fix her hair and makeup for dinner.  Chris thought she was crazy but was not going to deny her.  But when she started to get dressed he stopped her.

“Um, just put on jeans and a t-shirt, you’ll change at the restaurant,” he offered with a smile.

She was intrigued and confused, “Why would I change clothes at a restaurant?  And what am I supposed to take to change into?”

“Actually, your outfit is already there, and we are going to a particular restaurant so just relax and enjoy.”

At 7:30 they set out from the Castle for the short walk through the park to the restaurant.  Chris stopped right in front of the stone entrance with the sign that said, “Be Our Guest.”

“Chris,” she said with a quizzical look, “You’re bringing me to eat at a themed restaurant in the park?”

His smile spread across his face and lit up his eyes, “Yeah, I know it’s great isn’t it?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?”

“Nope!  Just go with it because it isn’t what you expect.”

She shook her head, thinking this was the dumbest idea he had ever come up with.  But, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings; he was evidently quite excited.  They walked down the long stone entryway toward the large wooden doors that were made to mimic the entrance to the castle that belonged to the Beast in the classic movie.  Chris opened the doors, and they entered the grand foyer to be greeted by a hostess who recognized Chris immediately.

“Mr. Evans, welcome to Be Our Guest.  If you would like to follow me, I can take you to where you can change and where you will be dining.”

“Is everything ready?” He asked, purposefully being vague.

“Oh, yes sir.  Everything is prepared for your arrival.”

She walked them down a corridor, and Daisy noticed that the doors to a dining room called “The Ballroom” were closed.  She thought that was odd since the restaurant was packed and figured they needed the space.  She could tell the other two dining rooms were doing a big business this evening, and Belle and The Beast were visiting with the guests.  She thought it was cute at how the kids were so excited to see them.

She leaned over to whisper in Chris’ ear, “They are excited for Belle and The Beast, imagine how excited they would be to eat with Captain America.”

“Yeah, well that is not going to happen.  At least not tonight!”

The hostess stopped in front of two doors, “Here is a dressing room for each of you.  Daisy, you will be on the right and Chris you will be on the left.  Once you have changed, there is a door that will lead you directly into your dining room.  You can leave your belongings in this dressing room, just make sure you have locked the door into this hallway so that your items are safe.  Any questions?”  Neither one of them had a question; the hostess excused herself, and each of them stepped into their dressing room to change.

Daisy stepped into the large room and noticed the garment bag hanging on the hook on the wall.  As she unzipped it, she was stunned by the gown.  It was apparently inspired by Belle, but it was not a replica of her dress; it was yellow with a beaded bodice and cinched waist with a full satin and tulle skirt.  There was no petticoat or hoop so it made it easier to walk in and it would be more comfortable to sit in.  She was not sure how Chris knew what size dress to get or how he pulled this off, but he never ceased to amaze her.

She put the dress on and slipped into the stunning pumps that were purchased to match the gown.  She actually felt like a princess in this dress.  Once she felt as if she was tucked and zipped and ready, she opened the door and felt all of the breath rush from her lungs.

The doors opened into the ballroom dining area; the room had been cleared of all tables except one that was situated in the middle of the room.  Standing next to that table was Chris, in a stunning blue suit with a yellow waistcoat that matched the color of her dress.  He wasn’t wearing a tie, and she didn’t care, the suit and the waistcoat more than made up for it.  As she began to walk toward him, he walked to meet her, carrying a single red rose.

“You really went all out on this didn’t you?”  She said as he handed her the rose and kissed her hand.

“Well, I wanted you to have a night to remember,” he said, looking around the room, “How am I doing?”

She took a step forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss, “Knocking it out of the park so far slugger.”

He walked her over to the table, held out the chair for her and proceeded to have dinner.  They made small talk and following dinner, the soft music that had been playing in the background began to get a little louder.  That was Chris’ cue to take her hand and start to dance.  She was apprehensive at first, after all, he had been dancing his entire life, and he knew what do to.  Daisy let him lead, resting her head on his chest, moving slowly to the music and feeling as if there was nowhere else she would rather be at that moment.

They danced in silence for what seemed like only minutes, when he began to speak, “Daisy, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, and I want to give you whatever it takes to make you happy.  I want to be your husband, and I want you to be my wife – for the rest of our lives,” He stopped dancing, took her hands in his and dropped to one knee, “Please marry me again, Daisy Ann Proctor.  I’ll give you the wedding you have always dreamed of.  I’ll keep our marriage secret, or I’ll shout it from the rooftops, whatever you want me to do.  I’ll move you to LA or Boston, or I will live in your hometown forever, you tell me – I just want to be with you and love you and have you love me back.”

Daisy was shaking at this point and could not say anything, instead, she just kept shaking her head.  Finally, she managed to say, “Just kiss me.” 


	43. Starting Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW  
> 18+  
> Sexual Situations

Daisy had declared for him to stop talking and to kiss her; he was more than willing to honor that request.  He stood up and reached for her, putting one arm around her waist and one hand on the back of her head, pulling her close and giving her a kiss that stopped time yet made the room spin.  When their tongues touched the spark that ignited was undeniable.  They broke the kiss to catch their breath, and Daisy hoped her heart would begin beating again.

Chris took a minute to steady his breathing, resting his forehead on hers, “Princess, you didn’t answer my question.  Will you marry me again?  Can we have a real wedding and can I keep you as my wife, forever?”

A single tear rolled down her cheek, “Yes, I will marry you again, in a real wedding and be your wife, forever.”

Chris once again leaned into her for a kiss and not wanting to break away, but breathing sort of required it.  “So, if you are going to marry me and we are going to live happily ever after…you’re going to call off Jaws, right?”  He asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, “Because, I like her, and all but I don’t want her circling me for the kill or anything.”

“Jaws, er, Violet has not been circling you and waiting for the kill!  But yes, I will call her off,” Daisy said and playfully hit him in the chest.  “Did she know about your plan?”

“I plead the fifth on that.  But I will admit that your parents, Melody, and Kimberly all knew about it.”

“Chris!  Are you kidding?”

“No,” he said while in a fit of laughter, “I think the two people who knew the most were Melody and your dad.   I knew you slammed the door and stormed into the house after you hung up on me the other day when the car was delivered.  Your dad texted me after you blew past him.”

“So, in other words, I am the last one in on the plan?  Well, isn't that just rich!” She said, unable to hold back her own laughter.

“I had to let him in on it, I had professed to your parents how much I loved you and would take care of you and then the next day I left.  I needed them to know that nothing had changed on my end, but I needed to see if you really wanted me back.”

“Yeah, well they realized pretty quick that I wanted you back.”

“But you couldn’t tell me, eh?”  He said, lifting her chin so she was looking into his eyes.

“You aren’t going to let me live this down are you?”

He kissed her again, “No, probably not.”

The two danced through another song and made the decision to stroll through the park and then go back to the Castle.  They stepped back into their dressing rooms to change; Daisy did not want to draw attention by walking through the park in what amounted to a prom dress.  While she felt beautiful wearing it and loved looking at Chris in his suit, the idea of them drawing stares was too much to consider. 

They met back up in the hallway with their garment bags and held hands as they exited the restaurant.  What Daisy didn’t realize was the park was ready to close when they left to head back, and there were very few people around.  They strolled down the pathways, and the soft lights cast the perfect glow; it was romantic, and she felt as if she was in a different world.  

“I guess it pays to be married to a guy with Disney connections,” she said as she snuggled closer to Chris.  “I know you wanted us to spend a week down here for a honeymoon, and I just want to know if that can be up for discussion?” 

Chris stopped, confused by her question and a little concerned.  He thought things were going well, she just agreed to have a big wedding and make it totally official and then she makes a comment like this.  He decided not to freak out, but to listen to what she had to say.  “Well, yeah, I mean we can talk about it.  We have to move from the Castle tomorrow anyway so what did you have in mind?”

“I hear it in your voice, you are freaking out but don’t, I promise I am not changing my mind.  But I would rather go home and tell everyone the news,” she said with excitement in her voice.  “And maybe if we went back and told everyone we could go ahead and start planning this wedding because I would rather have it sooner than later.”

He could not contain his smile, that was probably the second best thing he had heard all night.  “So, you want to hurry up and have your big wedding, is that what I’m hearing?”

She nodded her head fervently, “Absolutely!”

“Would you be willing to go to Boston first?  I want you to meet my Ma and my sisters,” bringing his lips to hers.  “They’ve heard all about you now, I promise.”

“Only the good stuff, right?”

“Oh, yeah, right.  I left all the crazy stories out, but I’m sure Scott filled them in,” he said, giving her one more kiss, while he thought he could get away with it.

“Great, well there goes my attempt to impress,” she said, throwing her hands in the air as if she was upset.  She was playing, and Chris clearly got the joke, he was laughing and clutching his chest.  “I hope she doesn’t think I am too much of a flake.”

He walked over and pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head, “She will think you are beautiful.  She knows how worried I was about you and she knows how hard I was fighting to get you back.  She also knows, if I have to choose, I choose you.”

~ * ~

The light was shining in the stained glass window of the Castle room; it didn’t shine directly on their bed and for that, Daisy was thankful.  She slowly untangled herself from Chris and the covers, deciding to head to the bathroom to take her shower and prepare for their day.  As she walked to the bathroom door, she turned and looked back at Chris all peaceful and beautiful in the bed.  She was sure housekeeping would not be happy with them when they came to take care of the room later in the morning.  The sheets had been entirely pulled off the bed, and the bedspread was in a pile on the floor.  Honestly, she didn’t care how upset housekeeping might be; it was worth it to see Chris on his stomach, his right arm bent and tucked under the pillow, and his left stretched across the bed where she had just been lying.  The covers low on his back, barely covering the stretch of his body from the small of his back to the middle of his thighs.  It was not lost on her that she could clearly see three of his tattoos from the way he was positioned.

She finally had to turn away, if she didn’t, well she couldn’t trust herself if she didn’t.  She started the shower and let the water run for a moment, letting it get as hot as she could stand it.    She stepped in and let the water cascade over her.  She was so lost in the heat of the water and her thoughts of Chris in the bed that she did not hear him come into the bathroom or open the shower door.  So she was startled when he stepped behind her, wrapping one arm around her chest and one arm around her waist and buried his head into her neck and began kissing and nipping at the curve of her neck and shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, did I make too much noise and wake you,” she questioned while moving her neck to allow him to have better access.  She was in heaven with what he was doing.

He pulled his lips from her neck and moved to her ear where he breathlessly growled, “I began to wake up the minute I felt you move away from me in the bed.”

“Likely story, I watched you from the doorway, and you never moved,” she teased back.

“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t aware that you were gone,” and he started kissing her again, making her lose track of what she might want to say in response.

His hand moved from her waist to between her legs, exploring her slick folds with his fingers.  His arm across her chest held her close to him when her body would buck and react to his touch.  He gently slid a finger inside and allowed his thumb to gently rub her clit while his finger moved in and out of her, gently and in a steady rhythm.

“You…have…to…stop,” she could barely form the words or get them out, her body was beginning to tremble, and he held her tighter with each spasm.  “I…feel you…in my back…”

“You can tell I like this, is that it?”  He had to finish her though for her since she was having trouble conveying her message.  He knew she was close, but he was not going to let her cum; not right now at least.

She shook her head as best she could; the feelings were intense, and she was not sure she could take sudden movements.  “Oh….please…Chris…”

He pulled his hand away and could tell she was disappointed.  He turned her so she was facing him and he pulled her close, devouring her mouth with his, proving her no time to protest the fact that he was no longer playing with her.  He hands immediately wrapped around him, cupping his ass and pulling him as close to her as possible.  She hitched her leg against his hip, giving him the signal that she wanted more.

Chris turned slightly, figuring the closest wall was the side wall of the shower.  This would allow a firm surface for Daisy’s back and would allow them both to still get hit with the warm water from the showerhead.  He gently eased her against the wall, not wanting her to hit hard or bounce her head against the tile.  He never took his lips from hers as they moved into position against the  Disney emblazoned tile; he should probably feel guilty for this, but it was a little too late for that now. 

He parted his legs slightly to make sure he had a firm stance; he was strong, but he had to make sure he didn’t slide, and he had to support her as well.  He grabbed her right leg, the one that she had hitched on his hip and pulled it up to his shoulder, “Does that feel okay, baby,” he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

She didn’t verbalize a response, she just shook her head and bit her lip; she knew what this meant, and she wanted it so much.  She reached down between their wet bodies and found his hard cock; holding it firmly she began to guide it towards her opening.  She knew he was trying to steady her and hold up her leg, so she was more than willing to help get this moving.  He slowly entered her, the sensation was new because she was standing and the position of her leg; he was able to penetrate deeper, and it was incredible.

She let him know she liked it, with each thrust she would gasp a little louder and bite her lip.  She was trying to maintain composure and was struggling to do so; she wasn’t ready to climax.  While she had been so close just a short time earlier, she was enjoying this too much and didn’t want to risk her orgasm setting him off.  No, she wanted this to last, this felt too damn good to stop.

“You like that, Princess?” 

She couldn’t respond, but she did shake her head.  She reached up to grab his shoulders, her nails beginning to dig into his skin, “Chris…more….please…oh…don’t stop…faster…”

“Come on, Princess, cum for me,” he growled, and that was all it took.  Her walls spasmed around him, and he continued to pump in and out of her until he couldn’t hold back any longer.  He made sure that as he came, he looked directly into her eyes and he got out the words, “I love you, Princess.”

His body stilled and he held her against the wall; unable to move.  It had taken a moment before he had his bearings, his orgasm was mind blowing.  There was something about the fact that he made love to his wife; it was still odd to think that.  His wife, when would it cease to be weird to say those words?  He slowly stepped back and put Daisy’s leg down and then moved to kiss her.

“Sorry baby, are you okay?”  He asked gently.

“Yeah,” she responded softly, “I think I’m better than okay.  You?”

“Much better than okay,” he said as he dipped to kiss her again.

“Shit, Chris,” she pulled back, “I’m sorry, I didn't mean to do that.”  She was feverishly rubbing on his shoulders where she had left indentations from her nails.

“Did you draw blood?” He asked with a chuckle.

“No, I don’t think so,” her voice still pained with worry.

“Then they won’t leave any permanent damage; and if they did, well it is war wound I’m proud to wear.”

~ * ~

Daisy and Chris finished packing their things and rode the elevator down to the concierge room.  They were checking out of Cinderella’s Castle and heading to the airport for a flight to Boston.  The Marvel travel office had been able to switch their tickets to get them out of Orlando early, just like Daisy had requested.  Although now she was nervous at the prospect of meeting her mother in law because all of the clothes she packed were for a vacation not for a first-time introduction to her husband’s mother. 

They were given a special escort out of the building and an exit route to limit their exposure to the crowds.  They got into their waiting car, and when they were alone, Daisy finally felt like she could breathe.  “So, please tell me we aren’t staying at your mom’s house.  You have your own house, right?”

“Correction, we have our own house, and that is where we will stay.  I just stayed at mom’s on the last visit because I was telling her about you and then you went missing.  But I have no intention of sleeping with my wife under my ma’s roof.”

“Ok, so when we get to Boston I can change and freshen up before I meet her, right?”

He reached over and put his arm around her and pulled her toward him, “You look beautiful, and ma will love you.  Don’t worry, but if it makes you feel better, then yes, we can go home, and you can freshen up before you meet her.”  Chris had to admit that it was sweet that his wife was so worried about meeting his mother; Daisy didn’t really believe him when he said that he would choose her first, but he would.  She was now the most important woman in his life, and he would do whatever it took to make her understand that.


	44. Welcome to the Family, Daisy

Daisy had been fidgeting the entire trip; Chris had to refrain from laughing at her.  She could not sit still in the car to the Orlando airport and then paced the terminal while waiting to board the plane.  Good thing she was pacing, he had been recognized by several fans, and they wanted to get pictures; he, of course, obliged, but he was careful to keep his left hand shielded.  He had not taken off his ring, he was not planning on taking it off either.  He was going to call his agent when he got to Boston, he had been too preoccupied in Orlando to consider making the call.  But he would make time in Boston; he would also need to call Meghan and let her know because he was willing to let this news get out. 

He had not talked to Daisy about it yet, but he wanted to announce that he was married.  It would be better to get in front of it rather than someone posting a picture or trying to drop gossip and making it worse.  Besides, he wasn’t ashamed of her, and he knew she didn’t want the spotlight, but she wasn’t ashamed of him either.  Yeah, these were things he needed to get taken care of and the fans in the airport just made it more of a reminder.

On the plane, Daisy couldn’t sit still either; she played with her seatbelt or her arm rest.  She put her tray down and then back up and then back down.  She started to read a magazine and then stopped.  After a few minutes of this frenzied behavior, he reached for her hands.

“Babe, stop, you’re driving me nuts.  You have nothing to be nervous about, I promise,” he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.  “She will love you, and you know Scott loves you, you are golden.”

“I have to worry about Carly and Shanna and Ryan.  Let’s not forget about your dad and step-mother and their kids; crap, the list keeps getting longer.  I’m not going to survive this.”

“Okay, listen, I haven’t told dad yet, and he will be easy.  I know you have nothing to worry about there so don’t stress out.  I was going to talk to him the other day but when everything happened, well I was more concerned with getting to see you rather than talking to him.”

“You are just so smooth, you know that, right?” She said to him, eyebrows cocked, “What am I going to do with you?”

He leaned over, put his lips to her ear and whispered, “You want to spank me when we get home?”

She smiled and then punched him in the shoulder, “No, you ass.  Although, if you want to do that to me, I’m not going to stop you.”

When the plane landed at Logan, Daisy paced while they waited for their bags.  The nervous energy was oozing out of her.  As they walked out to go and get a rental car, they noticed Scott waiting for them.  Daisy took off running to go and greet her brother in law; running into his arms and giving him a huge hug.

“Hey good looking,” he said to her as she slammed into him, “I saw that ring sparkling while you ran over here, so you are still married to that meatball, eh?”

She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, “Yeah, I felt sorry for him.  You know that he pouts, right?  It is the saddest thing, he looks so pitiful you just can’t help but want to hug him.”

The two of them started to laugh hysterically while Chris stood there watching, hands on his hips, “Are you two done?”

“Oh, Mr. Serious!”  Scott mocked, putting his arm around Daisy’s waist, “I do need to clear something up before we go to ma’s.  When I told you to marry her ‘pronto’ and to ‘put a ring on it,’ those were figures of speech, and I didn’t think you would actually do it.  But, I am glad you did because the two of you do look great together and you look very happy.”

“I’ll be happier if you take your hands off my wife, bro.”

Scott snatched his arm back and put his head down, “Sorry, didn’t mean anything by that.  You do know she’s not my type, right?”

“Yeah, I know that but it doesn’t mean you won’t try to run off with her,” Chris shot back, but you could tell he was joking with his brother, and there was no animosity or ugliness with his words.

“Stop it you two!  I can love you both!  Now, take me home so I can make myself presentable before I meet your mother.”

Scott turned and looked at her as if she was insane, “What?  You look beautiful, Chris, tell her she looks fantastic.”

“I’ve been telling her that all day, but she won’t listen to me.  She thinks she needs to freshen up her makeup and change her clothes before she meets Ma.”

Scott put his hands on Daisy’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “My brother is not lying to you and neither am I.  Ma is going to love you, and you look beautiful!  You have nothing to worry about, seriously.”

Daisy took a deep breath and let it out, “Okay, if you say so.  But if she hates me or makes fun of my clothes or makeup it is your fault!”

~ * ~

Daisy sat in the front seat staring out the window; she had never been to Boston before, but she was not actually paying attention to the landscape or taking in the sites.  No, she was too busy in her own head worrying about what she was going to say or what might happen.  While Chris was driving, he could tell that she was still worried, her fidgeting had stopped, but she was so quiet that he knew she was still nervous.  He had reached over and taken her hand, holding it occasionally squeezing it for support.  He didn’t know what else to do; he had his own anxiety issues, and he knew how they could take over and control everything.  This was something that had taken control of her. 

Luckily, Scott was dialed into it enough that he backed off from the teasing and made sure he kept the conversation casual and light on the drive out to the house.  He told stories about Stella, Miles, and Ethan; the niece and nephews and their hijinks.  He also told Chris about all the things that Dodger was in the process of destroying.

“Wait?  What?  You have a dog?”  Daisy snapped her head around and looked and Chris, the shock was evident on her face.

“Oh, did I never mention that?”

“No, you did not,” she said emphatically.

“Is this going to be a problem between you two?”  Scott questioned from the backseat.

“Well, it will be if there is anything else he forgets to mention.  Geez, you marry a guy on a whim, and you realize you know nothing about him,” she said laughing.

It was then that Chris realized she was not mad and that she was kidding, “Yeah, I have a dog, he is a rescue, and his name is Dodger.  He is actually at Ma’s house right now so you’ll get to meet him.”

“So, what happens to him when you are working on a project?”

“Well, I’ve been home since I got him, for the most part, anyway.  When I have been out, Scott has watched him, but we brought him to Ma’s when we went to visit this last time.  Why?”

“Well, I just think that maybe he could stay with me,” Daisy offered, “That is if Scott is not opposed.”

“No!  Seems legal custody should go to the wife and not the brother, I’m good with that,” Scott chimed in from the backseat, “Of course, that is if he likes you.”  There was a smirk in his voice as he said that.

The conversation had kept Daisy occupied enough that she was unaware they were preparing to pull into the driveway of the Evans family home.  As the car came to a stop, Chris squeezed Daisy’s hand, “You got this, she will love you, and you have nothing to worry about.  Trust me on this, okay?”

She nodded, but she was not nearly as confident as she tried to project.  Her stomach was doing flips, and she was feeling nauseous, she prayed she would not get sick when she walked in the door. 

Scott had been sitting directly behind Daisy, so when he got out of the car, he opened the door for her.  However, he didn’t stick around to help her out.  He didn’t want his brother busting his chops again for ‘touching’ his wife.  Chris got out and walked around the front of the car to meet up with Daisy, take her hand and then walk her into the house.   Scott had led the way, opening the door and walking in first; this got everyone excited that Chris was home, and they were clamoring for the door.

Chris walked in first, Daisy a step behind him with her head down, too nervous to look up.  When he saw the swarm of his family descending upon them, he gave them a look that begged them to back off.  They took the hint and began to scatter.  As Dasiy fully stepped into the foyer, she looked up and tried to remain calm, there were so many sets of eyes looking at her.  There was, however, one warm smiling face and that was Lisa Evans.  Daisy recognized her immediately, and suddenly her fear and doubt went away; the woman did not look menacing and scary at all, she had soft eyes and stepped forward with her arms outstretched and gave her a hug.

“Daisy, it is so nice to finally meet you,” she spoke softly and sweetly, and she embraced her, “I’ve heard such wonderful things about you.”

“It is nice to meet you as well, I am sorry we couldn’t arrange for this sooner, I guess that’s my fault,” Daisy hung her head as she backed away from the embrace.

“Oh don’t be silly, running a business and dealing with this guy can be a little hectic,” she said pointing to her son.  She knew the background, and she did not want to make the situation any worse between Daisy and Chris, it was shaky ground with these two and Lisa wanted to tread carefully.  “So, let me apologize for the audience, everyone is excited to meet the new lady in Chris’ life.”

Daisy offered up a little wave, and Chris stepped in to make the introductions.  Once made, he suggested that they go sit down in the family room to at least get comfortable so they could get acquainted.  The kids were excited to see Uncle Chris so they wanted to ‘fight’ for a spot on his lap; Miles won that battle.  Daisy had to admit that it was sweet to see Chris on the couch with his nephew all curled up in his lap, Miles had his head on Chris’ chest, and he was content to just sit there.

Stella did not want Daisy to feel left out, and she promptly decided to crawl up on her lap and snuggle up; since Daisy was sitting next to Chris, it allowed for the next closest spot to Uncle Chris.  As Daisy and Chris admired the cuteness on each other’s lap, Carly and Ryan could not help notice it either.

Ryan leaned over to Carly and whispered, “So, how long before they have their own?”

“When did they hook up?  A month ago?  I say in 8 months,” Carly said with a snicker.

Scott came over and stuck his head in between the two of them, “You want to start a pool on how quick they have kids of their own?”

Ryan let out a laugh that made Daisy and Chris look up and over at them.  He turned to Scott, keeping his voice low, and said, “We just said the same thing.  Pretty sure they have a jump on that already.”

~ * ~

Lisa Evans had stayed in the kitchen while everyone got settled in the family room.  She was making coffee and tea and declined assistance from Daisy when it was offered – no, she wanted to observe instead, see how Chris and Daisy interacted with one another.  Chris had professed his love for her, and Scott had confirmed they were perfect for one another, but she needed to see it for herself to believe it.

When Chris walked with her into the room, he had his hand on her back.  He had to touch her, not pawing all over her or being anything other than sweet and attentive.  He didn’t sit down until after she did and made sure she was comfortable.  When the kids began to climb all over them, he warned them to be careful, and that Daisy wasn’t used to having kids crawl all over her and for them to go easy on her.  He would whisper in her ear or kiss her softly, and she would smile at him and kiss him back.

It was only when Chris moved to put his hand around her shoulder that the ring on his finger caught her attention, she had not noticed it before.  Now it was real, and now she had to admit to herself that it stung that she wasn’t there to see her oldest son get married.  Of course, she wasn’t going to bring that up because she didn’t want to cause any friction while they were here.  No, this was an opportunity to get to know Daisy and welcome her to the family.  Make the best of the situation and give her blessing to the situation so that she did not lose the thing that mattered the most – Chris.

She watched as the kids crawled on their laps and how natural they both looked with them snuggled up to them.  Daisy held Stella tight and rocked her gently; she obviously had a way with children, and she prayed the two of them worked out their issues and gave her more grandchildren.  Chris would be a wonderful father, and he wanted kids so badly; she could see Ryan and Carly looking at Chris and Daisy and could only imagine that they were making comments on the same subject. 

She figured it was best that she go on in and take the coffee and tea and start the conversation…see where this was going to go!

~ * ~

Lisa set the tray down on the coffee table in the center of the family room.  She glanced over and noticed that Miles had fallen asleep in Chris’ lap, and Daisy was holding a sleeping Stella.  “So, I guess coffee or tea is out of the question for each of you?”

“Yeah, sorry, Ma.  Not sure I could hold a cup with this little guy on my lap.”

“I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you called and said you were coming home from Orlando so soon.  Normally we have to drag you away from Disney.”

Daisy shifted on the couch a little, “Well, I’m afraid it is my fault that we left early, I was a little excited and wanted to leave, and he didn’t really have a choice.”

Ryan looked over at Carly with a big grin, “See, told ya!”

Chris gave them a funny look, “Told ya what?”

“Oh nothing, please continue,” Carly said with a laugh, completely confident they were going to announce they were pregnant.  Of course, Carly wasn’t aware that there had been trouble in paradise for the two of them.  In reality, they didn’t even know they were already married, they just thought this was the girl he was dating.

“So, Ma,” Chris started to say, “Remember I told you that Daisy and I were working on a few things, and we were going to use this trip to reconnect?”  Lisa nodded her head, knowing what her son was saying was, in fact, true.  “Daisy and I have worked everything out, and she had agreed to marry me again, this time though we will have a proper wedding in front of our family and friends.”

“Wait?  What?  When did you get married the first time?” Carly screamed, then quickly put her hands over her mouth to quiet herself in the hopes that she didn’t wake the kids.

“We eloped in Vegas after the press tour,” Daisy murmured in response to Carly’s question, “It sort of just happened.”

“Yeah, and we’ve spent the last few weeks fighting about it, and she’s been trying to divorce me,” Chris announced.

“And now you aren’t divorcing, that is great news!”  Scott chimed in.

Daisy’s smile could have lit up the room, “He got on one knee and proposed and it was so romantic – there was no way I was going to refuse to marry him.  I was so excited that we were going to do this that I wanted to hurry and tell everyone.”

“But you’re already married, right?”  Ryan asked, somewhat confused.

“Yeah, we are, but we didn’t do it with family, and that is when you make a memory.  I want my Princess to have her fairytale wedding, and that’s what she is going to get.  Now we have to plan it!”


	45. Relighting Romance

Over the course of the evening, the Evans family got to know Daisy.  She was no longer nervous in their company and found that she fit in comfortably.  Carly had Ryan had taken the kids upstairs to bed and that just allowed Daisy to move closer to Chris on the couch; they were snuggled in tight to one another, and their comfort level put everyone else at ease.  Lisa had no trouble seeing what Scott had described; it was clear the two of them were perfect for one another.  There was an ease about them, and she could understand why Chris fought so hard to keep her by his side. 

Lisa decided to turn the talk toward the wedding, she needed to see how soon they wanted to get this done and what she should anticipate, “Have the two of you decided when you want to have the wedding?  Or where you want to have it?”

Chris shook his head, he was worried about this conversation, “Well, I have an appearance coming up and then a new project and then a short span of time before the next big project so we could do it then.  But Daisy, we are talking late August or early September of this year, can you wait that long?”

The realization of what he had just said hit her, and the disappointment showed in her eyes.  She tried her best to hide it, but she knew it was showing, “Um, yeah, well I guess if I have to.  I mean, we are already married, but I suppose I can wait.  Yeah, I mean I can hold on,” she said and hung her head and began playing with the bottom of her shirt.

Scott glared at Chris, he was not happy that his brother was going to make her wait, “You can’t make her wait that long!  Can’t you make arrangements before then?”

“I wish I could, but this project I’m going to do is going to be out of the country, I can’t just fly home for the weekend,” he pulled her closer and kissed her head, “I promise, we will have this wedding as quickly as we can.”

Daisy stood up and excused herself, she needed to use the powder room.  As soon as she was out of earshot, Chris leaned over, “I am not waiting guys, but I need her to think I am!  I’ve got a public appearance, and when I get back from that, I surprise her with the wedding.  I want to know if you guys will help me with the surprise?”

“Chris, how can you pull off a surprise wedding?”

He looked around to make sure she wasn’t coming back, “Easy, I want to do it at her parent’s place, they have a big barn for the winery and a lake, and it is beautiful.  She would love it, and her family and friends can help make it happen and possibly have you guys help as well.  With everyone pitching in, it can happen right under her nose.”

“You sure are taking a huge risk by throwing a surprise wedding for her,” Scott cautioned, “What if you screw this up?”

“Look, she is on the verge of selling her store because of me and telling me I have ruined romance for her.  I’m trying to relight the romance fire for her, and I will do whatever it takes.”

“Do you need to do it with a blowtorch?” Ryan asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, I’m not taking any changes of the flame going out.”

“Fine, Chris you tell us what we need to do,” Carly offered, “But just be careful, she seems really sweet, and you two are perfect for one another it seems – don’t mess it up.”

Everyone sat back in their seats as they heard Daisy’s footsteps approaching.  They resumed conversation so that Daisy would not be suspicious; they hoped their coverup worked.  Chris noticed that Daisy didn’t look like she felt all that well, “Hey, you feeling okay?”  The concern was evident in his voice.

“I suddenly don’t feel all that great, would you care if we went home?  I think maybe I’m just worn out, I’ve not slept all that great, and maybe it is catching up to me.”

Chris was worried, and he jumped from the couch, “Absolutely!  Sorry guys, I’m gonna take her to the house, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

~ * ~

Daisy had been restless, she had been sick several times during the night and didn’t get much sleep.  When Chris woke up, he noticed she was actually asleep, and he did all he could to make sure he didn’t wake her.  He eased out of bed and took a shower, got dressed and scribbled a note and left it on the bedside table.  He then went downstairs, grabbed his keys and headed to his mom’s house.

He walked in just as Ryan and Carly were leaving for the morning; he offered his goodbyes and went straight to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee.  “So, Daisy didn’t get much sleep, she was up sick all night.”

“You think she has a bug or something?” Lisa asked without looking up from the newspaper.

“I think she’s been too stressed out in all honesty.  This marriage, divorce, the store, it’s all eating at her.  Melody told me that she will go for days where she will barely eat and then have a day or two where she will eat whatever is not tied down.  Her dad said her emotions are all over the place; she will be happy go lucky one day and a bitch on wheels the next.”

Lisa looked up at Chris and smiled broadly, “Son, you have no idea what you are about to get hit with.  I don’t think that planning a wedding in secret is going to be a good idea for you.  This could seriously backfire, and if her emotions are everywhere, it could get really ugly, really fast.”

“Ma, what aren’t you saying?”

“I’m not saying anything, Christopher.  I am just telling you to be careful.”

“Can you make a few phone calls for me?

“What kind of calls?”

“Remember that photographer that did the barn wedding for that friend of yours?  Heather somebody?  I would like to see if she’d be willing to travel and do the pictures for our wedding.  And I need you to call Zach and Josh for me, I want them to come to the wedding and help set up.  Maybe you could coordinate from here, please?”

“Of course, I will, you know I will.  Just make sure that you give my information to someone who is working on that side so I can help relay information.  I just hope you really do know what you are doing.”

“Yeah, me too!  I’m going to go check on her and see about getting her back home,” he walked over to his mother and leaned over to give her a hug.  She stood up and embraced him and squeezed tight, “Thanks for being so sweet to her, Ma.  She was so scared to meet you.”

“She is a lovely girl, Chris and I could really tell how in love you two are.   It’s easy to like her, it really is.  Now, just keep her happy.”

~ * ~

Chris walked back into the house and took the stairs two at a time, Daisy was just stepping out of the bathroom.  Her hair was damp, and she had just stepped out of the shower.  “Hey, you feeling better?”

“Yeah, sorry I missed going to your mom’s.  You’re not mad are you?”

He walked over and pulled her into an embrace, “No, I’m not, and she was worried about you,” he leaned back and looked into her eyes, “Are you sure you are okay?”

Daisy nodded, “Yep, I’m good, I think I just needed the rest.  I believe the shower helped, too.  I’ve gotten everything packed, and once I get my hair dry, I’ll be ready to go.”

“Okay, well, Scott said if we swing by and pick him up he will take us to the airport.  It will give you an opportunity to say goodbye to Ma, too.”

~ * ~

Daisy slept the entire plane ride home; her head rested on Chris’ shoulder, and she fell asleep almost the moment the plane took off.  He used the opportunity to fire off an email to his agent and his publicist to let them know the news.  He figured they would want to talk to him and being able to say he was sending this from a plane allowed the buffer to keep them from calling him back.  He also used the opportunity to send an email to Daisy’s dad about the wedding at the winery; Daisy was not aware that he had already formally asked her dad for permission to propose.  Sure, they were already married, but if he was going to ask to do this wedding the right way, he wanted the formal approval to do it.

She also did not know that they had already talked about having it at her parent’s house, well in the orchard to be exact.  During one of their conversations, Thomas had told Chris that the barn on the property was one of Daisy’s favorite spots.  When she was a kid, it was her ‘hiding place’ when she needed to get away.  If she wanted to escape into her own world and read or just be alone, the barn is where they would find her.  The barn sat on the edge of the lake on the property, and it was a serene setting that gave her peace and allowed the world around her to disappear.  When she grew up and moved away, she would still come out to this spot if she needed to think. 

Daisy had not been happy when her parents had decided to turn it into the tasting room for the new winery.  As a matter of fact, Thomas said it was an understatement to say she was unhappy.  As a compromise, he built a loft and provided her own space with a view of the lake.  This would allow her to come and unwind when she needed it and would still allow the wine tasting area to be built out.  He even soundproofed the wine tasting room so that it wouldn’t interfere with her need for peace. 

Since this space meant so much to Daisy, it was only fitting that this is where the wedding takes place.  Thomas said that he and Martha would love to hold the wedding out there, and it would be ideal if that is what they wanted to do.  Chris sent the email saying he wanted to have the wedding in the barn and wanted to surprise her with the entire event.  He stated that they were on their way to tell them the news of their reconciliation, but he wanted to give them the heads up because while they will talk one timetable with Daisy, he is actually accelerating it without her knowledge.  He does realize it is risky, but he hasn’t played it safe with her yet, and he isn’t about to start.

Just as he hit send on the email, the announcement was made that they were on their final approach for landing, and Chris had to wake Daisy.   

~ * ~

Chris and Daisy had rented a car to get home; Melody had taken Daisy to the airport for the trip to Orlando so they had no vehicle waiting for them when they landed.  They had not warned anyone that they were coming home so they didn’t have someone there to pick them up either.  No problem, a one-way rental car was an easy enough solution.  As they began the drive home, Daisy dialed Violet’s number.

“Violet Morgan speaking,” she sounded so professional as she answered the phone.

“I thought I called your cell number, why are you answering so damn professionally?”  Daisy busted on her, trying to make fun and keep the call light.  She had the call on speaker phone, and Chris was keeping quiet so as not to give himself away.

“Well, if it isn’t my celebrity divorce client.  I haven’t gotten the divorce papers back yet, Daisy.  Why don’t you just call him and ask him if he is going to sign them?  I can’t call anyone, he doesn’t have a fucking lawyer.”

“I know, he is so damn infuriating, isn’t he?”  Chris said with a laugh.

“Evans!  Shit, Daisy you have me on speaker phone?  What the hell and you’re with Chris?” 

“Sorry, Violet, yeah I’m with Chris, and we are in the car.  We went away together and have decided to call off the divorce.”

“Actually Jaws, I’ve formally proposed to her.  We’re going to have a big fancy wedding and everything.”

“You’re an ass, Evans.  So, I did all the damn paperwork for the divorce, and now you want me to retract it all?”

“I’m sorry, Violet.  I know it’s a lot of work, but yeah, can you retract it?”  Daisy asked apologetically.

Violet made them wait before answering them, “Yeah, I can retract it.   Do you still have your paperwork, Chris?”

“Um, yeah, it is on my desk in LA.  Do you need it back?”

“No, just shred it; hell use it for confetti at your wedding.”

“Ok, I can do that.  Just send me the bill for everything and I will get you paid right away,” Chris paused for a moment before continuing, “And thanks for everything, Violet.”

“Oh, I’m Violet now and not Jaws?”

“Well, you have to bill me, I figure I should be nice,” he said with a laugh.

“Violet, I am sorry for putting you through all of this.  I really do appreciate your friendship and all you’ve done,” Daisy told her.

“You’re welcome, Daisy.  I’m really glad it’s all working out for you.  Just make sure to send me an invite to the wedding.”

“Yeah, you’ll be there,” Chris offered, “I need to hook you up with Grillo after all.”  And with that, he disconnected the call.

Chris smiled and looked over at Daisy, “Do you think she is genuinely happy for us?”

“I do,” Daisy responded, “I guess I should get used to saying that right?  Maybe I need to practice saying it over and over again.”

“Well you’ve said it before, so I think you are safe for being able to say it again.  But you know, Princess, we haven’t had the critical discussion yet,” Chris was afraid to bring this up since things were going so well, “We need to talk about if you want our relationship to be public or if you want it to remain private?”

“What do you want?”  She tossed the question back at him.

“No, it is not my decision, it is what you want and what you will be comfortable with.  If you want the relationship to be private, that is fine, but you realize it means I’ll have to lie.  If I have to that it won’t be fair to you, and it might be harder to deal with than it would be if people knew about you.”

“I don’t want the fans to be mad at you or at me.  I’m not ashamed to be your wife, far from it, but I don’t want to make things hard on you.  What does Meghan say?”

“It’s funny you ask.  I sent her an email when we were on the plane, and she tried calling me twice, and she’s left a voicemail, but I’ve not listened to it yet.  I’m sure she has an opinion, just don’t know if I want to hear it or not.”

“I want to be brave and say let’s go public.  I want to say the hell with the doubts in my mind and not worry about what people will think.  But you know that’s hard, right?”

“Yeah, I know.  I’m used to tuning it out but it’s all new for you, and I get it.  We’re going to be okay, just trust me.”

“I trust you, and I promise, I won’t run.”

 


	46. It's All About to Change

Chris woke to the sound of rain dancing on the rooftop and the low roll of thunder in the air;  Daisy was sound asleep against him.  When they had arrived home from the airport, she had been too tired to go out to her parent’s house, and she was not feeling all that great.  Once again she was starting to feel sick and was positive that something in Orlando had upset her stomach.  He was getting a little worried but figured he would hold off playing the role of the doting husband for a few days.

He watched her sleep for a few moments before he decided to ease out of the bed and go into the kitchen.  He gently pulled the door shut behind him, not wanting to make noise and wake her.  He knew that with her stomach bothering her, coffee was not a good idea, so instead he put on the kettle to make her some hot tea.  He made coffee for himself, tea was not going to cut it for him.

As the water was about to boil, he heard shuffling from the bedroom, evidently Daisy was up.  He started to make her tea but when she didn’t come out of the bedroom he stopped and went to check on her.  As he opened the bedroom door, he realized she was in the bathroom, and once again, she was getting sick.  A minute later she exited the bathroom and saw him leaning against the bedroom door, arms crossed, and a concerned look on his face.

“So, I was going to hold off being that guy but I just can’t.  I’m worried about you being sick all of a sudden – you weren’t sick in Orlando, and you weren’t sick before we went so what is going on?”

“I told you, I think all the stress of the last few weeks has caught up with me that’s all.  Or maybe I got food poisoning down there.  I’m fine, really, don’t worry,” she said trying to ease his mind.  She went to the dresser and pulled out some clothes, “I’m going to take a shower, that should help and then we can go to mom and dads.  I promise, Chris, I’m okay.”

“If this continues past today, you promise me you will go to the doctor, okay?”

“I promise,” she said with a mock salute.

Chris watched her disappear into the bathroom; he was not convinced that everything was okay.  He went into the kitchen and listened to his voicemail from Meghan.

“Chris, I got your email, and I was going to call you anyway.  The clerk’s office in Vegas ended up finding your marriage certificate.  The clerk isn’t sure if any of the other women in the office found it or leaked it but you need to be prepared just in case.  Do you want to introduce Daisy to everyone?  Do you want to do it on a show, Ellen would be good.  Or do you want to do a magazine article or what?  I need to work on it, but you need to call me.   Matter of fact, call me the minute you get this!”

He picked up the phone and began to dial, not paying attention that out in California it was buttcrack dawn.  But Meghan did say call the minute he got the message.  The phone rang twice and then the call connected, and he heard her groggy voice, “Hey, morning, sorry to wake you.”

She sat straight up, “Chris!  Thank God, I was afraid you weren’t going to call me back.”

“Sorry, I just had a few things I was dealing with, so what are we dealing with?  Does TMZ or anyone know about it yet?”

“No, at least not yet.  The call from the clerk’s office came to me three days ago, and I think if they knew it would have been on Twitter or their websites by now.  I believe that we dodged the bullet, but I feel we need to jump ahead of it. You told me Zach has a video, are there any photos?”

“No!  No photos to my knowledge and I have a copy of the video and so does Zach.”

“Any chance he has shown it to anyone else or done anything with a copy?”

“Nope, not a chance.  Meghan, I just asked Daisy yesterday about whether she wanted to go public or not and she hasn’t answered me yet.  What’s your gut on this?”

“My gut is you go pubic.  Look you’re private and I get it and respect it but if anyone catches wind that you got married it can blow up, and that could be worse.  And if you two have kids, well that would be a bigger deal if baby news comes out before anyone thought you were married.  Like it or not, you have the Cap image to worry about.”

“Okay, write a release, I was just on Ellen for Civil War, and I’m not going back on to announce I’m married when I just told her I was single.”

“Technically, you told her you weren’t dating Lizzie, but you didn’t say you were single,”  Meghan stated matter of factly, “But I get your point.  We can do an article with People, or you can do an interview with your friend Maria.”

“I don’t care, just write up the release and let me see it.  I’m not parading her around though because she is already worried about fan backlash.  I’m not setting her up to be skewered, she doesn’t deserve it.”

“I hear you, I’ll make sure the press release is clear about her privacy,” Meghan assured him and disconnected the call.

Chris ran his fingers through his hair; he tried to keep his relationships private but from time to time things didn’t stay that way.  He was worried about telling Daisy that it would have to go public; she wasn’t really going to have a choice.  Meghan was right, it was going to be better to get in front of this versus having it get out, and it looks like he was hiding it.  Although, frankly he had a right to keep it quiet; the fans didn’t need to be in his bedroom. 

When Daisy came out of the bedroom she found him at the dining room table, head down and fingers weaved through his hair; he looked distraught.  She slowly walked towards him, “Hey, what’s wrong?”  She said as she gently tugged at his arm and pulled him towards her.

He looked up at her, smiled and shook his head, “Nothing, Princess, everything is fine.  How are you feeling?”

“I feel great, now quit lying to me and tell me what’s wrong.”

“Meghan said the clerk in Vegas found the marriage certificate, and she isn’t sure if anyone else saw it or released it,” he took a deep breath and then swallowed the lump in his throat.  “She thinks we should go public with our relationship.  She said it would be better to get out in front of it versus being behind it.  I have to agree with her.”

“Okay, then let’s do it,” she responded in an upbeat tone that not only surprised him but surprised herself as well.

“Are you sure you are feeling okay?  I figured this would totally freak you out.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit I’m freaked out a little, but I knew it would have to come out sooner or later.  So, we get it over with and move on.”

Chris took her in his arms, kissed her gently and said, “This is why I love you.  You never cease to amaze me.  Now, let’s go tell your parents about our wedding news!”

~ * ~

For once, Chris was the nervous one as they drove out to her parent's house.  He was scared he would accidently leak his plans.  He pulled the new SUV up in front of the house and walked around to help Daisy out of the car.  He held her hand as they ascended the stairs of the porch and before they could reach the top step, the door opened, and Martha and Thomas came out to greet them.

“Daisy!” Her mother exclaimed as she ran towards her, “I’m so happy you’re home.”

“Mom, I’ve been gone a few days, not a few years,” she sneered at her.  The reaction from her mother was a little puzzling.

“Good to see you, Chris,” Thomas said as he extended his hand for a handshake. 

“Thank you, sir,” Chris responded, “Nice to be back in town.”

“Think you can stay out of jail this time?”  Martha smirked.

“Oh, be nice, mom,” Daisy said playfully, “Chris and I have some news!”  She moved to wrap her arm around his waist, and she was positively glowing; a fact that did not go unnoticed by her parents. “We’ve worked things out, and I’ve called off the divorce.  I’m going to stay Mrs. Evans.”

Her mother immediately pulled her into an embrace, “Oh, Daisy, I am so happy that the two of you fixed this.  You deserve to be happy.  Thomas, tell her how happy you are.”

Before he could say anything, Chris spoke up, “I’ve actually asked Daisy to marry me, again.  I’d like the opportunity to marry her in front of her friends and family.”

“He’s going to let me have my big romantic wedding, the one I didn’t get to have in Vegas.”

“Oh, that is so sweet,” Martha turned and wiped a tear from her eye, “Have you decided on a date or a location yet?”

“Well, Chris just got offered a project, and it won’t be until right before he goes to do the next Avengers movie.  So, what did you say, we can do September?”

Chris swallowed hard, he really hated doing this to her, “Yeah, September will probably be the best time because I’ll have to be in Atlanta in October.”

“Ok, well where are you going to get married?  Here in town or in your hometown, Chris?”

“We haven’t discussed that,” she looked at him with a little bit of fear in her eyes.  It never dawned on her that she wouldn’t get married here.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to make you come to Boston to get married.  I figured you would want to get married here at home.  I can make my family travel,” he said with a wink. 

It was as if he could see the weight lift off of Daisy’s shoulders.  He knew she would stress about that, and he wasn’t going to add that to any list of items she might be harboring concerns about.

Everyone moved into the house, and they cooked dinner and had general conversation.  Nothing out of the ordinary or earth shattering; Daisy recounted how Melody got her to Disney and how Chris surprised her.  She shared the story of the Cinderella suite and the perfect proposal.  She even shared how nervous she was to meet Chris’ family and how wonderful they all were. 

Thomas and Martha asked about the project that Chris had coming up but he told them it was still being ironed out, and he couldn’t discuss it.  He kept with the story that he used in Boston though, the filming would be out of the country, and that is why they would not be able to do the wedding until filming was over. When dinner was over, Thomas asked Chris to go out to the winery with him.  Martha asked Daisy to help clean up the dinner dishes, and then they could start talking about wedding plans.

As they were clearing the table, Martha decided to cut to the chase with her daughter, “What’s really going on with you and Chris?”

Daisy was confused, “What are you talking about?”

“Well, he is overly protective today; I can’t put my finger on it, but it is like he is anxious about something.  So, what is going on?”

“He’s a little worried about me, that’as all.  I’ve been sick and fatigued, and he is concerned, afraid something is wrong.”

“Sick?  Sick how?  When did it start?”  Now her mother was starting to worry.

“It’s nothing, I think it is the stress from realizing I was married and then filing for divorce.  The constant arguments between the two of us and the undeniable chemistry and then throw in the whole situation with being stranded and then him buying me a new car.  Just so much has been going on and I think it caught up with me.  Once he proposed and we were happy, I started to get sick.  I think I could have gotten food poisoning, honestly.”

Daisy just stared at her mother in the hopes that this line of questioning would stop.  “Well, before you left for Orlando, weren’t you having an issue with being ravenous or not eating at all?”

“Yeah, but that’s just nerves and the stress of everything.”

Martha dried her hands and walked around the kitchen counter and took a seat at the table, “Daisy, you’ve had an issue with your temper and your emotions as well.”

“Mom, of course, I have, I’ve been going through a divorce, and that is common.  What are you getting at?”

She kicked the chair out that was next to her and motioned for her daughter to sit down, “I know this is going to sound like an odd question coming from your mother, but give me some latitude.  When you first went to Vegas with Chris, I am sure you two, well, you know, um…had carnal relations.”

“Oh my God!  Mom, are you wanting to know if I had sex with Chris when we went to Vegas?”  Martha nodded sheepishly at her daughter.  “I am so glad that daddy isn’t in here.  Yeah, we did, but I think since we are adults there is no problem with that.”

“Did you use protection?”

“Um, well…I’m on the pill, but he didn’t use anything.  So I don’t think that’s an issue.”

“You were sick right before you went to Vegas and were on an antibiotic.  Daisy that renders your birth control pills useless, sweetie.  I think the sickness, the mood swings, and the hunger issues are because you are pregnant.  You need to take a test.”

Daisy had not let the prospect of being pregnant enter her mind.  Seriously, the idea of having a baby right now was not something she remotely wanted to consider.  The relationship with Chris was hard enough but to toss in the idea of a child; well, that was going to be too much to take.  Why in the world had she not even considered this?  And Chris, he had not considered it either. 

It was the end of May, and that meant she was probably five weeks at best.  But if they were going to get married in September she would be closer to five months and would be showing.  She did not want to be showing in her wedding pictures; pictures that would be shown to the press.  Not to mention, she was not sure if her dream gown would even fit.  She didn’t want to tell Chris yet; no, she needed to go and buy a test and see what it said first.  Oh, this would change everything.

 

 

 


	47. Emotional Breakdown

The back screen door slammed as Chris and Thomas Proctor walked toward the tasting barn for the winery.  The path from the back of the house out to the barn was well worn; Chris noticed how the flowers and trees provided a beautiful way that would be an ideal aisle for Daisy to walk down to get married.  His mind was racing, and it was all about the wedding and how he was going to pull this off without her knowing a damn thing about it.

It was almost 7 pm, but there was still sunlight visible, and the reflection off of the lake and the shadow of the barn gave a romantic look.  Chris stopped and just admired the view, “This would be the perfect time of day to get married.  I never gave much thought to an evening ceremony but this, well this just screams romantic and for me that is what I need to hear to make Daisy happy.”

Thomas chuckled at what he was hearing.  Captain America had turned all mushy and gushy and to think it was because of his little girl; something he never imagined saying.  “Chris, you know that she doesn’t need you to make such a big deal about all of this, right?  Romance to her is the right man in the right place with her friends and family.  She just wants to know you are willing to tell her that you love her in front of everyone that is important in her life.”

“I know, but I want this to be something she remembers.  She doesn’t want to remember Vegas at all; she completely blocks it out,” he put his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. “Look, I realize it wasn’t romantic, but I didn’t say ‘I do’ when I was drunk, and you need to know that.  I was sober, and I’ll do this sober, too.  I meant it then, and I will mean it in two weeks when I say it again.”

“Will you ever show us the video?”  Thomas asked.

“Sure, I’ll show it to you.  I’ve got it on my phone and can show it to you and Martha right now if you want.”

“When we go back inside I would like to see it.  Has Daisy seen it?”

“Yeah and she cried; but then again, she has been very emotional lately.  Wow!  Don’t let her hear me say that, I think she’d kick my ass.  So, you mentioned you had a friend who was an event planner?”  He tried to quickly change the subject to keep himself out of trouble.

As the conversation turned, the two of them began to talk about different ideas and how they could pull them off.  They wanted to go for something that would be easy to pull together but would be fitting of a fairytale.  In Chris’ mind, that is what this was, a fairytale relationship for both of them.  It needed the perfect ending

~ * ~

Daisy sat in stunned silence; what her mother had said was bouncing in her head.  She suddenly felt sick, this was not good.  There was no way she could even wrap her head around the idea of being pregnant.  The wave of nausea was starting to hit her, and she took off for the bathroom; practically running over Chris as he walked in the back door.

“Again?”  He commented as she ran off down the hall and slammed the door to the small bathroom, “I’m telling you two, I am starting to really worry about her.  I wasn’t going to be the overbearing and worrisome husband, but she has me scared.”

Martha stood up and walked over to Chris, placing her hands on his shoulders she looked into his troubled eyes, “She’s going to be okay, I promise.  It isn’t serious, and you have my word that I will make sure she gets to the doctor.”

He began to nod, “Thank you, I just don’t want anything to be seriously wrong.”

“Oh, I know, and it is so sweet that you are as concerned as you are,” she turned and looked and Thomas and had a hard time hiding her smile.  He picked up immediately on what she was trying to convey; it was apparent that the only one who didn’t get it, was Chris!

A few minutes later, Daisy came out of the bathroom, and Martha handed her a glass of ginger ale and a few crackers, “This should help, dear.”

Daisy glared at her mother; she liked it better when she was blissfully ignorant of what might be wrong.  No, the fact that her mom had to lay it out and tell her what was going on, that didn’t sit well.  She took the soda and crackers and sat back down at the table; Chris sat beside her and rubbed her back.  It was a sweet and straightforward gesture. 

“Daisy,” Martha decided to turn the conversation back to wedding planning, “Do you have a dress in mind for the wedding?  I mean with so many that come through the store, is there one that has caught your eye?” 

“Actually, there is!”  Her eyes lit up, and she sat up straight, her entire demeanor changed, “There was a dress that came in last year from Essense of Australia.  I fell in love with it, actually took it off the mannequin and tried it on.”

“Guess it comes in handy owning a bridal boutique,” Chris said, leaning over to kiss her temple.

“I refused to put this back out on display.  I put it back in the store room and have held it back just in case.  I mean, I told Kimberly if anyone asked for the dress specifically we could sell it, but I wasn’t going to just put it out there.  I wanted this dress for me.”

“Are you sure it hasn’t been sold,” Chris had no idea what Melody was doing so his question was, in fact, innocent.

“It was there a few weeks ago.  When you and I were in the store room, it was there.”

Chris got a twinkle in his eye as he remembered what happened in that store room a few weeks ago.  Although he was sure, she would have an alternative explanation if her parent asked.

~ * ~

For the first time in weeks, Daisy was excited to get up and go to work.  She had talked to Kimberly to get the details on how the store was performing while she had been out.  Sales had been healthy, and traffic had picked up; Daisy was intrigued and hoped that it meant a positive turn.  Although, she also knew she had voicemails to return regarding the purchase offer on the store.  She needed to make that decision and the possibility that she was going to have a baby led her in the direction of selling.  It was something she needed to discuss with Chris.

Chris was already up when she came out of the bathroom to get dressed.  She figured he was making coffee and probably reading his emails.  And she was right, he was propped up against the counter reading his emails on his phone while the coffee was brewing.  As she got closer to him, without looking up he handed her a thermal cup.

“It’s tea, figured it would be better for your stomach than coffee.  It has no caffeine, just chamomile.”

She took the cup and just stared at him, “Seriously?  Did I hit the husband lottery?”

He put the phone on the counter and held out his hand for her.  He took the cup back and then pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist, “Yes, you most certainly did, and I am so glad you finally figured it out!”

She playfully punched him in the arm, “Oh, stop it.  I don’t want to leave you here at the house all day.  Maybe I should call in sick.”

“You just told Kimberly you would come in so you can’t call in sick.  I promise I will not leave town while you are at work,” he kissed her nose and tried to contain his laughter.

“Okay, well that makes me feel better.  I have to go, I need to make a stop before I go to work,” she pulled back from him even though she didn’t want to.  “Love you and I will call you later.”

She left the house and got into her new SUV; still angry he bought it, but she had to admit that it was very sweet.  She drove a short distance out of town to a superstore where she could purchase a pregnancy test.  To be on the safe side, she purchased several.  Being outside of town it was a safe bet that she wouldn’t run into any of her friends.  This was not something she needed to have circulated through town.

She walked into the store with her bag; wanting to run and take the tests but fearful of what the results might be.  Instead, she walked through the store to check inventory and the displays.  She then went through the appointment book to see how things looked on the schedule for the day and for the next few days.  She was doing all she could to stall.  Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer, and she went into the back bathroom and opened the boxes; she purchased four different brands.

All of the said to wait up to five minutes for the results.  She peed on the sticks, set them on the counter and then went out to the look for the garment bag for that held ‘the dress’ that she would marry Chris in. She went right to the spot where it had been hanging – it was gone.  She rifled through all of the bags for the gowns that had been delivered for brides to come in and pick up – the bag as not there.  She was starting to panic.  She ran out into the store where her Essense of Australia display was set up and began shuffling through the dresses; Kimberly knew that this dress was held back so she didn’t think she would put it out on the carousel but she was checking just in case.  It wasn’t there. 

Daisy went back to the store room and began going through the dresses and bags again, surely she had just overlooked the bag.  It wasn’t there, and the panic was starting to rise.  She suddenly forgot all about the tests in the bathroom and focused solely on the fact that her dream wedding dress was missing.  She went through the receipts and documentation for the last week, and her heart stopped; there was a receipt showing a customer came in and purchased Essense of Australia dress Style #D1606. 

Daisy fell to the floor and began to cry; not just little tear but a complete breakdown.  She was crying so hard that she had trouble catching her breath.  She realized she was overreacting, it was only a dress, and she was the owner of a boutique that carried every style you could think of to choose from.  She could even call one of the other store owners that she knows to see if they had the dress to get it.  But she had the dress, it was in her possession, and now it was gone. 

After sitting on the floor for what felt like an eternity, she stood up and wiped her tear stained cheeks and put the receipts back in the file.  Now for the test results; she tried to prepare herself for this, knowing that with the emotional breakdown she just went through that there was no doubt what the results would be.  She walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light, and walked to the counter.  There was no doubt, all four tests showed a positive result and informed her that she was, indeed, pregnant.

Once again, the tears began to flow.  She wanted to be excited at the prospect of being a mom and giving Chris the family that he wanted.  He was always talking about how he cannot wait to have kids and be a dad.  He even said in an interview that he wants to be a hands-on dad and that he wants to be around enough that they won’t have a need for extra help.  But she had to admit that this was horrible timing.  The media will have a field day with the whirlwind romance; she meets him for the premiere and within a short time she is married and pregnant.  This only made her cry harder. 

She gathered up the tests and the boxes and put them back in the bag.  She tied it up and stuffed it into the bottom drawer of her desk.  The drawer locked and she knew that no one else had a key; she didn’t want Kimberly, Melody, or Chris to get into the drawer and find the tests until she was ready to tell anyone about them.  No, right now this was going to stay quiet.  She figured she would reach out to her doctor in the afternoon and see if she could get in for an appointment.  Need to make this official and see if she could do something about the morning sickness to keep Chris from asking more questions.

She went back into the bathroom and tried to wipe her eyes and face in an attempt to keep the puffiness away.  She had an hour before the shop opened and she needed to try and look normal.  She took a few deep breaths and tried to steady herself; this was going to be a long day and she needed to find a way to get through it.  As she was finally getting herself back to balanced, the door to the shop opened, and Melody came bounding in.

“Glad to see you are back!  Tell me you said yes and you are going to have a big fabulous wedding!”

Daisy just stared at her, trying to keep her emotions in check, “Hi, Melody.  Indeed, I said yes and we’ll get married again, probably in September.”

“Then why do you look like your dog died and you have no friends?  Literally, Daisy, you look like you’ve been crying.  What’s going on?”

“My dress,” she couldn’t help it, the tears started again, “it’s gone…someone came in and bought it.”  She was choking on the tears and throwing herself back into hysterics.  She knew it was a combination of the baby news and the dress, but she wasn’t going to tell Melody that.

“Your dress?”  Melody acted as if she didn’t understand what Daisy was talking about, “Oh, your dress that you’ve been hiding!  Wow!  Someone came in and bought it?  You have a store full of beautiful dresses, you’re telling me there isn’t another one in this store that strikes your fancy, and you would love to wear?”

Daisy shook her head, and her meltdown started all over again.  Melody watched in horror as Daisy struggled to control her tears; she knew the right thing to do was to move toward her and comfort her.  But she was frozen in place.  Actually, the noble thing to do would be to come clean and tell her best friend that she was playing a horrible joke on her and that the dress was safe.  But she wanted to wait until after she talked to Chris and found out the details for the wedding.

“Daisy, if the wedding is in September, you will have new fashions by then, and there might be a dress that knocks your socks off.  You have been so hooked on that dress that you haven’t given any other dress a chance.  Don’t you think you should at least look and see what else is out there?” 

Again, Daisy just shook her head and continued to cry; Melody had never seen her friend like this before.  “I’ll be right back,” she finally managed to say as she turned and headed toward the bathroom.

Melody got out her phone and texted Kimberly, “She has realized the dress is missing and has had a complete emotional breakdown.  I am starting to feel guilty.”

A few minutes passed and Daisy came back out, she had pulled herself together.  “Sorry, Mel, there is just a lot going on, and the dress thing hit me the wrong way this morning.  I’ll be okay, and I’ll start going through to find a new design.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

“Yeah, that’s all it is.  Look, I want to be mad at you for your part in the charade to get me to Orlando, but I can’t be.  I am really happy with Chris and so thankful that we worked it out.  So, thanks for playing a part in it.”

 

 

 


	48. The News is Out

~ One week later ~

The press release had been written and Chris and Daisy and given it their blessing.  Meghan released it to the media, no interviews were given, although every news outlet had asked.  Quietly it announced that Chris Evans had married his girlfriend in a private ceremony in April following the following the conclusion of the international press tour.  The article mentioned that his wife’s name was Daisy, but it did not mention her hometown or how long they had been dating. 

The social media reaction was varied; a good portion of Chris’ fans had been supportive that he had found happiness and wished the two of them well.  As expected, there had also been a contingency of fans who did not like the idea that he was married and took every opportunity to say hateful and vile things about a woman they knew nothing about.  Scott, who generally kept quiet about Chris’ personal life, took the opportunity on his social media posts to congratulate his brother openly and welcome Daisy to the family.  The responses to his posts were generally positive and those that were not, well he deleted and blocked those folks.

Daisy didn’t want to see what was being said, but it was like a car wreck on the highway, she just couldn’t turn away.  She had turned on a google alert and read every article that popped up.  She followed the rants on Twitter and Tumblr and, against her better judgment, even read the discussions on the IMDB message boards.  She would get worked up, and Chris would calm her down.  He would tell her to turn the computer off and she would, for about five minutes, and then she would be right back at it.  After a few days, the vitriol died down, and Daisy came to accept that she would always be the ‘bad guy’ for stealing Chris’ heart away from the fans.  She finally decided to wear it like a badge and be proud versus letting it upset her.

As Chris was preparing to leave for his personal appearance, he knew that his marriage would be a topic that he would have to deal with, but he was ready.  At first, he was angry that Meghan put the press release out so close to the appearance.  She knew that he already had concerns about these things, and he didn’t need the added pressure of dealing with the publicity of the marriage on top of it.  However, he finally came to terms with it and decided it was for the best; it meant that some of the fans in the photo ops would be a little more reserved in their staged picture requests.  He wanted to do pictures that would make his fans happy and give them a good experience for what they were paying for; however, sometimes he was a tad bit uncomfortable with their requests.  They might be more respectful of him being a married man. 

When it was time to leave, Daisy drove Chris to the airport, but she decided not to walk in with him.  While no one knew he was there, at least she didn’t think there was paparazzi there, she didn’t want to take a chance.  The whereabouts of the newlyweds was still a closely held secret, but other people in the airport could recognize him, and they would naturally figure out who she was.  Pictures would be snapped and would be immediately splashed everywhere; the first official photos of Chris and his bride.  The cover would be blown, and everyone would know where he has been hiding out.  Right now, they were happy with the anonymity.

They were living in wedded bliss at the moment even though each of them was keeping a secret from the other.

~ * ~

Before leaving, Chris had been working with the party planner and had everything set for next weekend.  The weather was supposed to be beautiful, and if that held true, the ceremony would be held outside with the reception inside the barn.  However, the barn was large enough that if the sky was threatening, they could move the ceremony inside as well.  They could even have Daisy get ready in the loft and descend the stairs so she didn’t have to walk in the rain. 

His mom had arranged for the photographer from Boston to fly in to take the pictures.  He was thankful for this as it meant Daisy could have a wedding album that she could always look back on to remember the day.  His mom had also told him that Zach and Josh would be joining Scott, Carly, Ryan, and Shanna in the set up for the wedding.  They would be arriving in town on Wednesday and Chris had arranged for everyone to stay with Thomas and Martha.  There was plenty of room out at their house, and he could keep Daisy away.  Chris would be able to see them during the day while Daisy was at work but at night they would be on their own; they would understand, but he hated it.

The theme for the event was simple elegance, and the set up was going to be relatively easy.  The hardest part would be the catering because the barn didn’t have a kitchen.  Getting the catering trucks down to the barn without being seen was the challenge.  Thomas said he had a few ideas and Chris was leaving that in his hands.  Martha was working with Greg on the flowers; Chris wanted daisies for the wedding because they were her namesake and because it is commonly thought of as the flower of innocence.  This just gave him the perfect picture of this wedding and for his fairytale – damn, he really was a girl!  Greg advised them that daisies did have other variations and colors, and it might be fun to use some of them in the arrangments; give some pops of color.  Martha agreed, and Chris said he would leave that decision to them.

By the time he got on the plane to leave, he felt as if the planning was in place and everything was set.  When he arrived at the convention center for the public appearance, he put his phone on mute and tried to block out anything that was wedding related.  He needed to focus on the fans, but it was hard.  Of course, his friends and costars had to give him a hard time about the press release regarding his surprise wedding to Daisy. 

“Dude, why am I not surprised?”  Anthony Mackie said as he smacked Chris on the back when they met up in the green room.

“There was a definite spark that night.  I had no idea that you two were hooking up, though, that is fantastic, really happy for you!”  Sebastian chimed in.

“Thanks, yeah it has been a whirlwind for sure.  Listen, please, I beg of you, don’t mention her during the panel.”

“Why not man?  This is fairytale shit right here,” Anthony loved this entire scenario for Chris.  He knew that his friend was happy, he could see it written all over his face, and he wanted to have everyone share in his joy.

“Yeah, I know but I don’t want everyone to that we haven’t been together that long.  She is super sensitive to the fans, and I am sure that the fans would freak out to find out that we have known each other for not even two months, and we are married.  Hell, it is hard for the two of us to wrap our brains around.”

“No, I get it.  We got your back, man.  Are you happy?”  Anthony asked, already knowing the answer to the question before he asked.

“Ridiculously happy; probably shouldn’t be this happy but I can’t help it.  We had some bumps, and I’ll admit we tried to live without one another, but I never wanna do that again.”

“No worries, we don’t need the details, Chris.  Just know that we won’t bring her up or give you any grief about it,” Sebastian said, and he gripped Chris’s shoulder; the same gesture that Cap did to Bucky in Civil War.  “I will tell you, though, I am jealous that you just looked at her that night and knew right away that she was the one.  You were laser focused on her that night.”

~ * ~

The weekend was a great success.  During the panel the questions centered around the movie and the friendship between the guys and their characters.  Luckily, no one brought up Daisy or the wedding.  During the autograph sessions, several people did bring it up, but it was all positive.  A few fans offered wedding gifts in addition to gifts for his upcoming birthday; he thought the gestures were sweet, and he offered his thanks.  Everything was boxed up so he could take it home with him. 

While he appreciated his fans and their dedication, he was utterly exhausted.  His weekend was full of autograph sessions and photo ops and being shuttled from one room to another.  The lines were long, and the parade of people was never ending; it was tedious, and he had to keep his smile plastered on and his energy level up.  He wanted a nap!  His weekend finally ended around 5 pm on Sunday, and he could not wait to catch a flight and head home.

His plane landed around 9:30 Sunday night and Daisy was waiting for him at the airport.  She had texted him with her location so he could exit the plane and come straight to her.  She didn’t want to wait at the gate and have the two of them end up making a scene.  He didn’t get asked for any photos on the plane, and he didn’t remember any paparazzi at the airport when he boarded; he felt pretty sure that he was safe getting off the plane and walking through the airport to go find Daisy.  But he understood that he had to be careful; he didn’t want to blow their cover or their hiding place.

He exited the doors into the parking garage and saw Daisy next to the SUV, she was staring off in the other direction, distracted by something.  She was beautiful, and he could not help but just stare at her for a minute.  The way the lights in the parking garage caught the highlights in her hair and framed her silhouette; he swore she had a few more curves than she had when he left, and he was not complaining.  He was pulled out of his trance when she turned and caught his eye.  Her face broke into a broad smile, and they began moving towards one another.  Chris dropped his bag and immediately their arms went around each other’s waist, and their lips met in a kiss that defined their relationship; soft and sweet with the passion and heat that told one another how much love they had.

“Damn, I missed you,” he said breathlessly as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I missed you, too and I realized I am not excited for you to go off and make a movie.  I don’t know that I want to be a stay at home wife,” she laughed.

Chris pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck and softly kissed up her neck and gently tugged on her earlobe, “I never said you had to stay at home.”

~ * ~

The next morning, as Daisy and Chris were lying in bed, tangled in the sheets and wrapped around one another, Daisy decided to bring up the topic of the store and the reality of their married life.   She was careful how she brought this up, mainly because she wasn’t ready to tell Chris about the pregnancy yet and couldn’t bring that up as part of the conversation.  She knew she couldn’t keep that secret for long but right now she was still trying to digest everything the doctor had told her and she didn’t think she was ready to tell him until she had come to terms with it.

“Chris, are you awake?” She asked as she gently ran her fingers through his chest hair.  She had to admit she loved that, she could appreciate the waxed look in the first Captain America movie, but she loved the fact that his hair had grown back, and it was the right amount in the right places.

He raised his hand to cover hers, “Yeah, baby, I’m awake,” his voice was groggy, and there was a growl to it that she found so sexy.

“I got another call from Connor Barrett, he wants to know my answer about selling the shop,” she let the words linger.

“What do you want to do?  I mean this had to be your decision.  I thought you said when were in Orlando that you weren’t feeling the romance any longer, and you wanted out?”

“Well, my faith in romance might have been restored,” a slight laugh letting him know that all of his efforts had worked.

“So, I was the reason you were going to sell?”

Daisy moved her head from his chest and propped herself up on her elbow.  He shifted so he could look her in the eye and she did not turn her gaze, “Ok, well maybe you were the reason; when you left, I was not interested in going to work and didn’t want to own or run the shop.  I loved the idea of selling and moving on.  In Orlando, my faith in romance was restored, and I thought selling the store might not be the answer.”

“I sense that there is a ‘but’ coming,” he said without breaking his gaze.

“Well, we haven’t talked about starting a family or where we will live.  We haven’t even talked about whether you want me to go on location with you or just stay locked up here.  I guess I don’t know what you want or what to expect so I'm not sure if I hold on or let it go.”

Chris took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, “I guess the idea of going on location is up to you.  I’m okay if you want to come with me but wouldn’t that get boring after a while?  I mean being here and having the shop would keep your mind occupied.”

“And what about a family?”

“Daisy, sweetie, isn’t it a little early to talk about having a family?  I mean let’s get the wedding behind us and get a few months under our belt and then we can worry about it.  We don’t have to be in a rush.  But if your question is if I want kids, the answer is a resounding yes!”

Daisy cast her eyes downward. Obviously, today was not the day to tell him about being pregnant.  She would hold on to that bit of news a little longer.  “Do you want me to move to Boston or LA?”

Chris sat up, he could tell there was more to her questioning than she was letting on.  “Princess, what is this all about, really?”

“We just need to make decisions, and it impacts what I do with the shop, that’s all.  We have been living a fantasy, and we need to be realistic now that your fans know about me, and we are planning a big wedding.”

“Ok, if I am completely honest, I want you to keep the shop and see if Kimberly will run it or if you can find someone else who will.  I think you will need something to keep you occupied or somewhere to escape to when the pressures of what I do get to be too much.  It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it, I just believe that you will need something to get away to, and the shop will be it.”

“Okay, so what do I do the rest of the time?”

“That is your decision.  I want you to come with me, but if you want to do something else, then I will encourage that as well.  But I don’t want you to be in LA without me.  I hate it out there, and I don’t want you there all alone.  You could move to Boston, but it is a matter of if you would be more comfortable with my family or here with yours.”

“You are leaving this up to me, Chris and that isn’t fair.  What if I make the wrong decision?”

He pulled her close to him, “You won’t make the wrong decision if you are making it for the right reasons.  Look, here you have a haven, and we are sheltered.  None of the paparazzi know who you are and where you live, so you have peace and solitude.  I’m not making you move to Boston; besides, I kinda like it here, and I do love your parents.”

 


	49. The Setup

~ Thursday ~

Conner Barrett was not happy that Daisy elected not to sell the shop.  He thought his offer was fair, more than fair actually, and he was positive that she would jump at the opportunity.  She hoped she was making the right decision, she kept replaying what Chris had said, ‘you can’t make the wrong decision if you are making it for the right reason.’   He was referring to something else altogether, but she was applying it to this situation.

As Daisy flipped on the lights and got the store opened up, she dialed Kimberly’s number and asked if she had some free time to stop by and chat.   Daisy was thrilled to hear that she had some time and could be at the shop in about thirty minutes.  Now all Daisy had to do was to practice her speech and hope to convince Kimberly that her plan was brilliant and convince her to help make it work.

When Kimberly got there, she noticed that Daisy had rearranged a few things and was in the middle of rotating out the displays.  She stopped working and ran over to greet Kimberly and offered her a seat at the counter.  “Thank you so much for coming to see me, I know you are busy and I promise I won’t keep you long.”

“Not a problem, I actually have no plans today, and I actually wanted to talk to you anyway, so the timing worked out well.”

Daisy took a deep breath and then just rushed headlong into it, “Did you know that I had an offer from Conner Barrett?  He wanted to purchase the store and my inventory so he could expand.  Evidently we do enough business here that it causes him some concern for his boutiques, and he wants to corner the market.”

Kimberly could not hide the surprise, “I had no idea, when did he approach you?”

“He was the reason I was missing.  I had a business meeting with him when the flash flood hit and I couldn’t get home.  I’ve been mulling over his offer and trying to decide what to do.”

“You can’t sell, Daisy.  This shop means so much to you.”

“Well, the reason the offer was being considered is due to Chris.  I mean, since he came into my life I haven’t devoted much time to the shop, and I’ve had to rely on you quite a bit, and I’ve neglected my own business.”

“Honestly, I was going to talk to you about that.  I missed working here and coming back to help has made me realize that.  I wanted to see if I could put some of what I learned in business school to work and help you run the store?”

Daisy’s eyes grew wide, this is exactly what she was hoping for, “I was so hoping you would be open to that idea, Kimberly.  Honestly, I wanted to bring it up but wasn’t sure if you would be open to it.”

“Well, I want to be more than just a worker.  I’d like to be a manager or run your daily operations so you don’t have to.  I want the responsibility, and it gives you the freedom to spend time with Chris and not worry about the store.”

“You have a deal, I’m willing to downsize or make the necessary changes.  I want to keep the store and have you run it, but it allows me the ability to come in and work when I can.”

The ladies were busy ironing out the details, and Kimberly agreed to begin working right away.  Daisy was unaware of the wedding, but Kimberly was not; so by Kimberly coming on board she knew she would be working on Saturday while Daisy was preparing for her big day.  They were discussing the business plan and changes they could make when Thomas Proctor came walking in.

“Hi dad,” Daisy was somewhat confused to see him in the store, especially during the week, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.  I ran into town for a few things and thought I would stop in because I forgot to tell you something at dinner the other night.  So, the winery is launching a new wine this Saturday, and we are having a reception and dinner to celebrate.  I want you and Chris to be there; it is going to be a big event, and I can’t have my little girl missing it.”

“Ok, I don’t think it will be a problem.  I’ve got to talk to Chris though, I have no idea when he is supposed to leave for his new project.  I guess if he were to leave the day after tomorrow he would have told me by now, but you never know.”

“Okay, it is a fancy affair so you guys will have to dress up,”  he began to walk away and then turned around suddenly, “Kimberly, I shouldn’t be so rude, you are welcome to join us.  The festivities start at 5:30, okay?”

The ladies acknowledged the starting time and thanked him for stopping by.  Daisy stared off into the distance, she hated going to these wine receptions.  She wondered if she could get out of it.  She knew that he dad just said he wanted her there but maybe if she could get Chris to agree to skip it, then she could be off the hook.

~ * ~

Daisy had left for work, and Chris took off to the Proctor’s to see how the wedding preparations were going.  The barn had been cleared out of the small tables that were used for the wine tasting and had been replaced with the large tables for the reception and dinner.  The guest list was sitting at 75; that encompassed Chris and Daisy’s immediate family as well as close friends.  Chris had quietly invited several of his co-stars, but he was not making this a big Hollywood affair. 

His family had arrived the day before, and they were getting to know the Proctors.  His mom had hit it off immediately with Martha, and they spent the previous evening telling stories about their children.  When Chris heard this, he cringed; figuring this would not bode well for either one of them.  Most of the guys were down in the barn helping to hang the fabric; the design had called for pale yellow and white fabric to be placed over the center beam of the barn and then draped to the walls.  Giving the illusion of tenting as you walked into the barn.  The colors, of course, matching the colors of the daisy.  The effect was already beautiful but to make it even more striking, glass chandeliers were rented and hung from the beam.  The soft light against the fabric provided a truly romantic setting.

The round tables were set with tablecloths that matched the hanging fabric; pale yellow underskirts with a shorter while top cloth.  The chairs were oak to match the interior of the barn and to keep it rustic.  Chris was blown away; the barn had undergone a relatively minor change, but it had such a dramatic impact.  Greg was there with Martha, they were discussing the flowers and the placement of the arrangements.

“Chris!”  Martha exclaimed as she saw him approaching, “It is coming together beautifully, don’t you think?  She will be so surprised.”

“It really is gorgeous, have you guy determined how you are going to get her out here?”

“Thomas is going to call her later today and tell her that he is having a launch party for a new wine this Saturday night.  We are having a catered dinner and event and that the two of you are invited.  He will tell her it is important to him that she is here, she won’t let her daddy down.”

“Ok, perfect.  I’ll tell her that I’m coming out here to help him get set up and that she should go with Melody to be pampered and met me out here.  That will allow us to get here separately.”

“She is going to be so surprised.  By the way, how has she been feeling lately?”

“She is exhausted; gets tired quickly but I am guessing it is because she is working so much.  She has been making some changes to the store and trying to find a new wedding dress.”

“Is she still getting sick?”  Martha knew what the answer was, but she wanted to see if Chris was catching on. 

“A few times, but the doctor gave her some medicine for her it; Daisy said she was diagnosed with a digestive issue and that it’s nothing serious.”

“Oh, I see,” Martha was a little worried that Daisy had not yet told Chris about the pregnancy.  It wasn’t like she could keep this hidden for long.  “Oh goodness, a dress?  You mentioned a dress, has Daisy found one?  That is one detail we didn’t think about.”

“Melody said to leave it up to her, she had it under control.  I have no idea what that means, but I am taking her word for it.”

Chris gave Martha a peck on the cheek and thanked her for all the work she was doing and then went off to find his brother and friends.

~ * ~

Chris and Daisy had just sat down to eat dinner when there was a knock on the door.  Chris, being the gentleman that he was, got up to answer and found Melody on the front porch.  He didn’t invite her in, he actually said nothing to her, but she pushed right past him and walked in.

“By all means, Melody, please come in and join us,” the sarcasm dripping from every word as he moved to close the door.

“Daisy, did you talk to your dad today?”  Melody approached the table and took a seat.  It was then that she noticed the table setting and dinner on the plates, “Oh, were you two getting ready to eat?”

“Yeah, we had just sat down when you knocked,” Daisy replied sheepishly.

“Oh damn, I’ll come back,” she started to get up and turn toward the door, “No wonder you weren’t your charming self when you answered the door,” she said to Chris as she started to walk past.

“We have plenty, go ahead and join us,” he offered, causing her to stop and turn to face him.  “Really, I’m not kidding, grab a plate,” he motioned toward the kitchen while he walked over and took his seat at the table.  Daisy mouthed a ‘thank you’ and he returned a smile to her, figuring it earned him some brownie points that he would call in later.

“Thanks, I am hungry, and it is nice to eat food that I didn’t cook!”  Melody replied as she loaded up her plate and joined them a moment later.  “So, Daisy, did your dad talk to you about the reception and dinner on Saturday?”

“What dinner and reception?”  Chris asked, acting as if this was all a shock to him.

Melody, of course, was in on it but her stopping by was not part of the plan.  “Oh, you didn’t tell him yet?  Ok, so Thomas is launching a new wine this weekend and he has a big shindig planned for Saturday night.  Big catered dinner and wine reception and everyone is invited – it is a big fancy affair.”

Daisy put her fork down, sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, “I hate these things, and he knows it.  He throws these big elaborate parties, and everyone dresses up, and the launch of the wine gets lost in the whole affair.  He ends up giving away too much product, everyone gets drunk, and no one can remember the name of the wine the next day.  I don’t want to go.”

“Oh c’mon Daisy, this will be your opportunity to show Chris off, you need to go.”

He did a double take at her comment, “What?  So I’ve been reduced to being a trophy now?”

“Oh hell yeah, you are definitely a trophy husband,” Melody said with a laugh, “She can dress you up and parade you around the room.  It will be monumental!”

“I really don’t want to go, is there any way I can get out of going?”

“Princess, you don’t want to disappoint your dad.  Besides, I think it might be kind of fun, I’ve never been married to the daughter of a winemaker before so I’ve never been invited to a wine launch.”

“Yeah, Princess, don’t want to disappoint daddy and your husband,” Melody said mockingly.

Daisy tossed her napkin at Melody and started to laugh, “Fine, I’ll go because I don’t want to disappoint my dad.  And because I don’t want to miss the opportunity to show off my trophy husband!”

“Great!  I was hoping you would say that, so I made our appointments at the day spa over in the city.  I thought it would be fun to pamper ourselves.  Since Kimberly is running the store for you, we could get our nails done and get a massage and then get our hair and makeup done.  Figure we could take the day and then blow everyone away when we show up!”

“I don’t know, that sounds horribly selfish, I should either be at the store or at least offer to help mom and dad set up for the event.”

“I’ll help your father,” Chris chimed in, using this as the perfect opportunity to pave the way.  “You go and pamper yourself and enjoy it.  You and Melody haven’t had time together in a while, and I’m capable of helping your dad.  It’ll be fine!”

“Great!   It is all settled, and I will be here to pick you up around 10 on Saturday morning,” Melody then started in on her dinner and didn’t say anything else until her plate was empty.

 

 

 


	50. The Wedding

~ Saturday Morning ~

Chris was up with the sun, unable to sleep and nervous.  He was not sure why he was so nervous, after all, he was already married to the beautiful woman who was sleeping next to him.  Over the last few days, they had been running around like crazy; she was working in the shop and getting things straightened out with Kimberly.  All while he spent the time preparing for the wedding.  Daisy thought he was helping with the wine launch and that had been the perfect cover story to allow for the work to be done and no questions to be asked.

Chris realized he was nervous because this could be an epic fail.  What if she didn’t like what he had done?  What if she had wanted to pick everything out and be the ultimate bridezilla and he robbed her of that?  What if it was more than just the idea of having a romantic setting and having the man she loved professing his love for her in front of the people that meant the most to her?  His mom was right, this could get really ugly, really fast.  Her parents felt confident in his plans, as did Melody and they all knew Daisy the best.  But there was that creeping fear that this could backfire and he would have completely messed up everything he worked so hard to restore.  He could feel his body temperature rising, he had to get out of bed before she could sense the heat he was giving off.

He eased out of bed and walked out into the living room and began to pace frantically.  Everything began to race in his mind; the brain noise he spoke about so often was so loud he couldn’t think.  He stood in front of the large picture window, looking out across the front yard and closed his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing and to calm himself down.  Long and slow breaths, in and out and he began to meditate.  He began to center and felt as if he was getting back to a place of calm when it dawned on him, Daisy had not yet asked him about the project that he was supposed to go and work on.

He had told her he was going to come back from the personal appearance and then go to work on a project that would take him out of the country.  This project would be the obstacle that would keep them from getting married until September, right before he would have to go off and film the next Avenger movies.  And those movies would keep him away for nine months.  He figured she was still trying to come to grips with everything, and that is why she had not mentioned the project or his departure date.  She was afraid of his answer.

He would be happy when this wedding was over, and the secrets could stop.  He knew that keeping secrets would be the downfall of a relationship, and he didn’t want that for him and Daisy.  He was aware that they had already kept too many things from one another, and they needed to be completely open with each other.  He wasn't deceptive in a malicious or hurtful way, but that was beside the point.  He just knew that they couldn’t afford to have secrets after today.

He made coffee and poured a cup, walking back towards the bedroom door.  Propping himself in the doorway, he drank his coffee and just watched Daisy as she slept.  His mind went back to his conversation with Anthony and Sebastian; how was it that he took one look at her and just knew that she was the one for him?  How did he fall so hard so fast?  He was aware that it defied logic and that most fans would never understand it, but somehow it worked, and he was not letting her go.

He glanced at the clock and noticed that he should get her up; Melody would be there soon for them to go to the day spa.  He put his cup down on the nightstand and crawled onto the bed.  He began to place soft kisses across her shoulders and down her exposed back, her body was responding. 

“Wake up, Princess, you need to get ready because Melody will be here soon.”

“I don’t wanna get up.  Can’t you just stay in bed with me all day?”

“Nope, I need to go help your dad set up for tonight, and you need to go get pampered.”

She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and then crawled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.  She came back out a few minutes later in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“Do you have a dress for tonight?” Chris asked.

“Melody has a dress for me to wear.  I’ve gained a few pounds, and she said she has a dress that will fit me, so she is bringing it for me.”

Chris walked over to her and pulled her to him, “You’re gorgeous, I don’t care if you’ve gained a few pounds.  I like your curves, and I might just have to show you how much later tonight.”

~ Saturday Afternoon ~

The pampering at the day spa had been nice, but Daisy had to admit it was also a bit odd.  Everything was ‘normal’ while they had their massage and their manicure and pedicure but it took a step towards the obscure when it came time for the two of them to get their hair and makeup done.  Daisy was conservative, very reserved and hardly wore makeup.  Melody was asking that they give Daisy dramatic eyes and that her look was natural but that she was dramatic enough to stand out in pictures.

“Pictures?  Melody what in the hell are you talking about?”

Melody froze, for an instant she realized she might have just blown Chris’ surprise.  She took a deep breath and carefully formulated her response, “Your dad asked that some pictures be taken tonight to commemorate the launch of the new wine.  He thought it would be a nice touch, especially since Chris will be there.  You know, big family event and all.”

“Oh, yeah, okay, that makes sense I guess.”

Melody turned and walked away, exhaling and thanking God that she was able to get out of that without blowing it.  While her makeup was being done, Melody went to find the girl that would be doing Daisy’s hair.  She showed her a picture of a hair style and asked her to do that to Daisy; she didn’t want to give Daisy a choice.  The style was a low curly bun with loose tendrils on the side that would frame her face beautifully.  With her brunette tresses and the makeup that was being applied, it would compliment her dress perfectly and make her a completely stunning bride.  Chris would be blown away when she walked down the aisle.

As soon as that was handled, Melody sat in the chair for her makeup and hair to be done.  She sent off a quick text message to Chris to let him know how things were going and that so far, Daisy was unsuspecting of anything.  One more text would be sent when they left and were on their way to the house.

~ * ~

As Melody pulled the car into the drive, Daisy glanced at the clock and realized it was already 5 pm.  The party wasn’t supposed to start until 5:30 but the parking lot for the Orchard and Winery was already full; she thought that was odd.  When she walked up the steps toward the front door she saw her dad in the hall if he had guests in the barn, why was he in the house?  And why in the world was he in a tuxedo?  She knew that he said this was a formal affair, but his previous launches were never this formal.

As she walked through the hall into the family room, she passed her mother, but it was the appearance of the Evans family that shocked her the most.  Standing against the far wall, she saw Chris’ mom and dad as well as his brother and sisters, the look of confusion registered on her face and before she could question why they were there, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned to see Chris, standing before her dressed in gray dress pants, a white oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a gray vest; he was absolutely stunning.  He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in the most perfect kiss, “Hey Princess, surprise.”

“Hey, handsome.  What is going on, what am I missing?”

Chris took her by the hand and led her to the large picture window that looked out over the orchard and the lake.  The window provided the perfect view of the barn; allowing her to see the soft lights in the trees, the pathway from the house that led to the aisle and the chairs set up with the arbor for them to say their vows under.  The doors of the barn were open, and the tables and chairs were visible.

Daisy’s hands flew to her face, she was in complete shock, “Oh my God, Chris!”

“I knew you couldn’t wait until September to get married and honestly, neither could I.  So, I hope you don’t mind that I decided to go ahead and make it happen.”

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his.  He could taste the salt of her tears as they fell down her cheeks.  He pulled back and reached up to wipe them away, “Hey, don’t cry Princess, you don’t want to mess up your makeup.”

“You really did all this for me?”

“Yeah, I did,”  he looked around at the family and friends who were gathered in the room, “Well they all helped of course.”

Daisy began to look around and noticed that there wasn’t a dry eye around her, “Thank you all so much,” it was just about this time that it seemed to dawn on her, though, “Daddy, what about your wine launch?”

Thomas Proctor let out a loud belly laugh, “There was no such thing, it was all a set up to get you to the day spa with Melody and then out here tonight.  It was Chris’ idea, every bit of it.”

She playfully slapped his chest, “You are so evil, but I absolutely love you.”

Melody walked over to her, “Come on, Daisy Ann,  you need to get upstairs and get dressed.  This man is going to expect you to walk down the aisle in a wedding dress and not sweatpants.”

“I don’t have a dress picked out,” Daisy said, her head hung and the disappointment evident on her face.

“We have you covered,” Kimberly said from the top of the staircase, “I promise, you won’t be disappointed.”

Chris gave her one more kiss, “I will see you at the barn when you are ready.”

He walked out the back door, and his family followed, each one giving her a hug and kiss as they exited the house.  Martha and Melody walked Daisy up the stairs, and when she walked into the master bedroom, she started to cry.  Hanging on the closet door was the dress, her dress, the one she thought was lost forever.

“Your dress wasn’t sold, Daisy,” Melody began, “Kimberly and I knew you had been hiding it yet you swore you weren’t.  We decided to move it and hide it elsewhere, and I didn’t know that it would upset you so much.  I actually felt bad about it, but when I knew that Chris was going to surprise you with the wedding, I felt it was only right to surprise you with the dress, too.”

“I don’t know if I can fit into it,” Daisy whispered.   She turned to her mom, “What am I going to do if I can’t fit into this dress I have nothing to wear to walk down that aisle.”

“I have a few dresses in the car,” Kimberly admitted, “I brought some backups in case because I didn’t know what size that dress was or when you tried it on last.”

“Why wouldn’t you fit into it?”  Melody asked, she was confused and apparently wasn’t paying much attention.

“You didn’t tell her?”  Martha questioned.

Daisy shook her head slowly, “I haven’t told anyone, not even Chris.  Heck, mom, I haven’t even confirmed with you, but you figured it out,”  Daisy looked over at Melody and Kimberly, “I’m pregnant and what no one knows, not even mom, is that I’m pregnant with twins.”  Daisy was sure that everyone in the barn could hear the screams. 

~ * ~

Martha Proctor walked down the aisle and took her seat.  Followed a moment later by Kimberly and then Melody.  When the music started, Thomas began to walk his daughter down the path toward the barn.  He looped her arm through his and patted her hand. 

“I can’t believe I’m about to walk you down the aisle,” her dad’s voice began to crack, “you are beautiful, and I want you to know that no matter what, you are always my little girl and I love you.”  He leaned over and kissed her temple and she could tell he was crying.

Daisy had to hold back her own tears, “I love you, too, daddy and that won’t change, I promise.”

They slowly began to walk towards the barn, where Chris was waiting for her.  He wasn’t looking up, he wanted to wait until she got closer.  He couldn’t explain why he was nervous, he was already married, but there was something about doing this the formal way, in front of friends and family, that made it more revered and humbling.

As she reached the back row of chairs, Scott nudged his brother’s arm, Chris raised his head to take her in.  Daisy was stunning in a champagne-colored ball gown with a strapless sweetheart bodice and beaded illusion jacket.  He was pretty sure he quit breathing for a minute; Scott must have thought so as well because he smacked him on the back to force air into his lungs.  The one thing he was sure of, were the tears pricking the corners of his eyes.  This woman was his, and he was so happy that she had agreed to keep him.

When she reached the front of the aisle, and her dad was standing next to him, he could see that she had been crying as well.  It was clear they were both emotional people.  The Reverend even made a joke about that, or at least Chris though he did, his heart was so full of joy he wasn’t really able to comprehend anything that was being said.  It finally dawned on him that Thomas was officially handing Daisy off to him, he took her hand and kissed her temple, whispering ‘I love you’ as he did.  He didn’t care if it wasn’t traditional, after all, what part of this entire scenario was?

As the Reverend spoke, Daisy and Chris faced one another and held hands, staring into each other’s eyes.  The Reverend asked if the two of them would like to say anything to one another and they both took the opportunity to share their feelings.

“Chris, I never anticipated that one movie premiere would change my life so dramatically.  You have loved me more than I could have ever imagined or ever thought I deserved.  And I never thought I had the capacity to love someone the way I love you,” she began to tear up and had to take a deep breath to calm herself down.  “Thank you for being my real life Prince Charming and proving to me that true love actually exists.”

Chris leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.  He could not hold back his smile, her words were unprepared but so sweet and heartfelt.  He could hear sniffles in the crowd and was pretty sure that both his mom and her mom were both crying.  He knew if they had a hard time with her words, they might not make it through his.

“Daisy, all my life I’ve wanted my own Princess.  My mom always told me they didn’t exist, and I believed her.  And then I saw you at the movie premiere, I remember telling Sebastian that night that you were special.  Scott even picked up on it the next day when we were together.  There was never a doubt in my mind that you were the woman I wanted to be with forever.  You captivate me, Daisy  Ann Proctor.  You challenge me and most of all, you love me.  Thank you for helping me prove to my mom that my Princess was out there waiting for me.”

The sniffles and the sobs in the crowd were a little louder, just like he had expected they would be.  He was always fairly sure that Scott was crying behind him, but he was not about to turn around and look.  He did, however, reach up and gently wipe the tears that were glistening on Daisy’s cheeks.  She mouthed the words “I love you” to him, and he said them back to her.

The Reverend cleared his throat and then began to speak, “Since Chris and Daisy are already wearing their wedding rings, due to that other ceremony that they had a few weeks ago,” he said with a raised eyebrow and a smile, “We won’t have to do anything with rings today.  But I do want them to pledge themselves to one another.  So, here we go.  Do you, Daisy Ann, take this man, Christopher Robert to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, till death do you part?”

Daisy looked into Chris’ eyes, smiled and with a steady voice proclaimed, “I do!”

The Reverend then turned to Chris and asked, “Do you, Christopher Robert, take this woman, Daisy Ann, to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, till death do you part?”

“I do!”  Chris did not even hesitate to answer, barely letting the Reverend finish his sentence.

“Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, man and wife.  Chris, please kiss your beautiful bride.”

Chris took a step forward, without hesitation and did just that. 

~ * ~

After the ceremony, everyone had gathered in the barn for the reception while Chris and Daisy had pictures taken by the lake.  The two of them could not wipe their smiles off their faces.  Several of the guests, including Sebastian, Anthony, Frank, and Violet, stood to the side of the barn door to watch the two of them.

About half an hour later, Chris and Daisy began to walk towards the barn, the soft lights in the trees providing the perfectly illuminated path for them to walk along.  They held hands and walked, and the photographer followed them without them being aware of it; the shots she took were amazing, and she knew they would be happy with them.

As the two of them got to the barn, Chris looked at his friends, “Were you all spying on us?”

“Just wanting to soak in all that true love,” Sebastian answered.

Chris smiled and patted his friends on the shoulders as he walked his bride into the barn and to their table at the front of the reception.  As they took their seats, he noticed Martha walking towards them with a bottle.  He thought it was odd since there was already a bottle of champagne chilling right next to the table.

“Daisy, I have this for you,” Martha said as she sat the bottle of sparkling apple cider on the table.  “I’ve already opened it for you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Thanks, mom, I appreciate it.”

Chris just watched the two women, still not sure what was going on.  He finally leaned over to ask after Martha walked away, “Daisy, since when do you not drink champagne?  What is going on?”

She stood up and took his hand, leading him towards the stairs to her loft space.  She looked to see if anyone was paying attention and when she felt the coast was clear, she pulled him up the steps and quickly closed the door behind her.  “I’ve been trying to find a way to talk to you about this for the last week or so.  I tried to bring it up, and you didn’t want to discuss it so I dropped it.”

“Didn’t want to discuss what, Princess?”

“I mentioned the idea of family to you the other morning for a reason,” as she said this his eyes began to grow wide, the realization of what she was about to say was starting to hit him.  “We’re pregnant, Chris.”

He was speechless, staring at her for a moment as if he did not truly register what she had said.  A moment went by, then two, “Pregnant?  A baby?  We’re going to have a baby?”  She was afraid he was going to hyperventilate.  He seemed excited but scared and nervous at the same time.  “Wait, I thought you were on the pill and had it under control?”

“Yeah, well I was sick before Vegas and was on an antibiotic – I didn’t realize it rendered my pills useless.”

“Shit!” He said as he ran his fingers through his hair, “I honestly didn't think we would do this so quickly.”

Daisy’s heart sank, she was afraid this would happen.  He wasn’t excited, he was upset, and here she had ruined their perfect day.  “I’m sorry, I honestly wasn’t trying to trap you or anything.”

“Oh, Daisy, that never entered my mind!  I’ve wanted to be a dad for a long time, and I am actually thrilled, I am just shell shocked, that’s all, I swear baby,” he moved to embrace her and to reassure her that he was not upset with this news.

She broke from his hug and guided him backward, wanting him to be near the couch when she gave him the rest of the news.  “Chris, there is something else I need to tell you,” as the words left her lips, he looked at her warily, “It seems that we’re having twins!”

Chris collapsed onto the couch, at first she thought he had passed out, but when he immediately leaned forward, she realized he had just not been able to continue to stand.  He just started shaking his head back and forth, tears welling in his eyes.  He jumped from the couch and softly pressed his lips to hers.  He deepened the kiss and pulled her body as close to his as he could, as he broke the kiss, she could taste the salt from his tears on her lips.

~ * ~

Chris and Daisy had spent time alone in the loft and finally descended the stairs to return to the reception.  As they reached the bottom step, they ran into Scott, who could not help but comment on their absence.  “So, you two just couldn’t help yourself, eh?  Had to rush off for a quickie?”

Daisy started to laugh, “No, you goof, but we did need to talk – that is all it was, talking!”

“Are you sure about that?  I swear you two are glowing, and you don’t glow from talking.  And girl, you wear that dress so well, I mean seriously, you look fantastic.”

Daisy began to blush, she knew that she had gained weight because of the babies and had developed curves that she did not have previously.  Chris had referenced them but didn’t realize why she had them, and evidently Scott didn’t either.  Boys, they were a little dim sometimes.

Chris punched his brother in the shoulder, “Ow!  Man, what was that for?”

“Quit ogling my wife.  I’ve warned you about that before, bro.”

“Dude, she’s smokin’ hot, and I can’t help but point that out, even if she’s not my type.”

“Boys, stop it!”  At those words both Chris and Scott stood up straight, mom’s voice had that effect on them even at their age, “Daisy, you are going to have your hands full when these two get together, you know that, right?”

“Yes ma’am, I’m definitely beginning to understand that.  I think I might just need to turn the hose on them.”

Chris stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her and gently cradling her stomach; a gesture that his mother definitely took notice of.  He placed his chin on her shoulder and rested his head against her’s, “I’m sorry, I’ll behave, I promise.”

Daisy broke into a wide grin, “Guilt, it always works to get him in line.”

“I actually came looking for you two because it is time for your first dance,” Scott said, “Although I’m not sure if everyone can handle all this sickening sweetness.”

“Scott, be nice,” Lisa chastised, “They’re happy and in love.  Let them enjoy it for heaven’s sake.”

Chris moved to her side and grabbed her hand, “Are you ready for this?”  She nodded, and they walked toward the dance floor as Scott ran for the DJ table.  He whispered something in the ear of the DJ, and the song began to play.  Chris immediately stopped and glared at his brother, the song playing was the theme from Beauty and the Beast.  Scott thought it was hysterical and was laughing like a hyena, but Chris just continued to glare at him.  Daisy thought it was funny as well, but she knew better than to join in with Scott’s laughter.  

Evidently Chris had picked out a song and was adamant that it get played.  The glare worked, and Scott had the song changed to the Frank Sinatra version of It Had To Be You.

Chris pulled Daisy in tight, her head resting on his chest, “This song is perfect for us and judging by the way everyone is watching us, I think they agree.”

She looked up into those sparkling blue eyes, still twinkling from earlier, “How long did it take you to find this song?”

“No time at all,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her full, plump lips, “I really did know it had to be you the minute I met you.  I know you think I am making that up, but I’m not.”

As the song ended, the DJ announced that it was time for the traditional dance between the bride and her father.  Thomas Proctor began walking toward the two of them.  “Are you going to tell him?”  Chris asked as he led her towards her father.

“I think I should, mom already knows, and I suspect you want to tell your mom.  I just hope he can hold it together,” she winked, and Chris handed his wife over to his father in law. 

As Chris walked away, it suddenly hit him that if they had a daughter, he could be doing the exact same thing years from now; dancing with his daughter at her wedding.  He could feel his chest tighten, and he needed to sit down; Daisy could see the panic on his face, but she couldn’t go to him, the music had started.   Chris took a deep breath and moved to find a chair, and he began to calm down, at least for the moment.

Thomas had selected the song for his dance with Daisy; being a fan of country music he chose You Look So Good in Love by George Strait.  “I felt like this song was so fitting, Daisy.   Since you met Chris, even when you two were pretending to fight, you have never been happier.  He’s been so good for you.”

“Dad, are you crying already?”

“No, just allergies, you know the fresh air and all,” he was trying to sound tough and not let on how much it meant to see his little girl all grown up.  His baby girl now belonged to another man and he knew that when she needed something, he wasn’t the first person she would call anymore.  “I guess he’s going to move you to Boston or LA now, I’m never gonna see you.”

“Oh, you aren’t getting rid of me so easy.  We like the privacy we have here, and Chris really likes you and mom,”  Daisy cleared her throat and tried to think of the best way to give him the news.  “Besides, I’m going to want to the twins to grow up playing in the orchard and running around with grandpa, and that can’t do that if we live in Boston.”

It took a minute for her words to register, “Twins?  Daisy, did you say twins?  Honey, are you serious?”  He had stopped dancing and stepped back to look at her; she was nodding her head furiously.  He pulled her into a tight squeeze, and she could tell he was sobbing.

“We’re due at the first of the year and I only just told Chris tonight.  But we aren’t telling all of the guests; just our parents, that’s all.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so happy for you.   Are you happy?  I mean are you okay with this?”

“Well, we didn’t plan this and birth control failed, but yeah, I think we are good with it.”

“What was Chris’ reaction?”

She let out a small chuckle, “Same at yours, he cried.  I think he was shocked, and it took a minute to settle in, but he is excited.  You know it’s what he’s wanted for a long time, he’s wanted kids for a while.  So, now he’s getting them.”

“I guess we can’t tell anyone that Captain America cried?”  Thomas laughed at the absurdity of it.

“Absolutely not,”  As the song came to an end and Daisy walked her dad to the edge of the dance floor, Martha Proctor hugged her husband.  Most of the guests would just think he was emotional for the dance with his daughter, but Daisy and Chris knew otherwise.

Daisy approached Chris, “He was definitely moved.  Are you ready to tell your mom?”

“I’m nervous, but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal for her, right?  I mean she had three grandbabies already so this is nothing.”

“It is a big deal because these are your grandbabies; her oldest boy’s babies.  Plus face it, you are her favorite.”

“Oh shit, you’ve been listening to Scott again.”

It was then that the DJ announced it was time for the groom to dance with his mother, he took her hand and walked her to the center of the dance floor as My Life by The Beatles began to play.

“Thank you for picking a Beatles song, Chris.  You know they are one of my favorites.”

“I thought the song was fitting.  You know you’ve always been there for me, and I’ve appreciated it.”

“I love you, son, that is what moms do.  So tell me, are you going to make me cry like Daisy made her dad cry?”

“Yeah, possibly,” he said with a confident grin, “Daisy and I were upstairs earlier because she had some news to tell me.”

“She’s pregnant, right?”

He gave her a puzzled look, “Um, how in the world did you know?”

“When she got sick when you brought her home and you started telling me things about her.  It made sense, but you seemed so oblivious to it, frankly you both did.  I thought you said the two of you were being careful?”

“She was on the pill, we thought we were careful.  The only problem was, she had been sick before going to Vegas and didn’t realize her antibiotic made her birth control useless.  Are you not happy about this?”

“Oh, no, I’m happy, and I’m sorry if I don’t seem that way.  I was just not expecting it that is all.”

“Well, there’s more, and you need to control yourself and not scream.  We’re having twins!”

“Oh my God, are you kidding?”  The shock was finally registering on her face, her eyes had gone wide.  “You’re serious aren’t you?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I’m serious.  We’ve decided to tell just the parents tonight; I’ve got to tell dad next.  But we aren’t telling anyone else.  I mean you can tell Carly, Scott and Shanna but not here – we don’t want to tell the other guests.  We just want to keep it to ourselves for a little longer.”

“I just thought you two would wait and be married longer; please tell me she isn’t trapping you into this marriage.”

“Ma, please don’t be that way.  We most likely got pregnant before we got married anyway and no, she isn’t that type of girl, and you know that.  Please, just be happy for us.”  Lisa nodded her head and decided to go with her son on this, if he trusted Daisy, then she would do the same.

The song ended, and Chris walked his mom back to the edge of the dance floor.  She immediately embraced Daisy, “Congratulations, dear.  Chris told me the news, and I am happy for you both.  Or should I say all four of you?  I’ll stay quiet for now, but you have to know I want to share this good news.”

“Thank you, Lisa.  I promise you can start telling people soon, just not tonight.”

“You better go find your father, Christopher.  He should be told tonight since you’ve told everyone else.”

Chris gave his mom one more hug and then took Daisy’s hand, “Ok, we’re off to find him, and we’ll be back in a little bit.”

They weaved their way through the barn and found Robert Evans conversing with Scott and Carly near the front of the barn.  As they approached, Robert held out his arms and pulled Daisy into a warm hug, “Welcome to the Evans family my dear.  You look so stunning in that dress, and you are absolutely glowing.”

“See, I said that, too,” Scott chimed in.

“Dad, can Daisy, and I talk to you for a few minutes?”

“Scott, that is our cue to get lost,” Carly announced.  She gave her younger brother a kiss on the cheek, “You look handsome and Daisy you do look beautiful.” 

Daisy and Chris watched as they walked away and then turned their attention back towards Robert.  “We’ve told her parents and mom, during our dances…but, um…Daisy and I are pregnant and are going to have twins at the end of the year.”

“Wow, really?”  Robert clutched his son’s shoulder, “Chris that’s fantastic news, and that totally explains why Daisy is glowing.”  He moved to embrace her one more time, “I’m completely flabbergasted, and I am sure that is a fair statement about your mother as well.”

“Yeah, she was shocked, to say the least.”

“Well, I’m happy for you and really excited to have two more grandbabies.  Are you two going to move to Boston now?”

Chris and Daisy filled him on their plans.  During her visit to Boston, she had not had an opportunity to meet Robert Evans, she had spoken to him on the phone once or twice,  though.  This was her first opportunity to get to know her father in law and she was taking advantage of it.  She could tell that there was a little strain on the relationship between Chris and his dad, but she hoped that now that he was going to have children of his own, Chris could mend that relationship.

Twenty minutes passed and as they wrapped up their conversation with Robert, they decided to step outside and get some fresh air.  Their reception was moving along nicely without them; everyone was really just wanting to party, and they weren’t needed for that.  Part of the decoration had been for hay bales to be set up for seating in the orchard.  Chris and Daisy decided to take advantage of that and sat down; Chris sat down with Daisy sitting in front of him leaning back into his chest and his arms wrapped around her. 

As they stared up at the sky, he said, “You know, that is one thing you don’t really see in the city, the stars are lost in the night sky.”

“You know, I would sit out here at night and stare up at the stars and wait for a shooting star so I could make a wish.”

“Did you make very many wishes?”

“I made the same one over and over again, I always asked for my Prince Charming to find me; I guess those wishes do come true.”

 


End file.
